The Dreamer
by Serac
Summary: [Complete] Those of Mahora Academy and of the magic world have been having a dream. When the dream is linked to magic, and the magic to murder, Negi must join with a new friend to discover the truth behind the 'voice' while protecting his students from it
1. A Dream With A Meaning

_Author's note: I DO NOT own any of the characters of NEGIMA, though the ideas and any other characters are my own. Ken Akamatsu is the original creator of NEGIMA!. This is a fiction which takes place before the Mahora festival, and I'll say now it'll be a divergence. There WILL be fighting, but I don't get too graphic. Enjoy. _

'_Run away, run away, run away...' _The voice taunted as the young boy ran for dear life. The black abyss surrounding the panic-stricken boy swallowed up any hope of escape conceivable, the voice echoing through his soul, tearing apart his rationale.

"Go away!" He screamed, covering his ears and shutting his eyes. The scarlet-haired ten-year-old tried to shut down his senses, but nothing was going to stop him from his break-neck dash for some sort of refuge against the voice. If he kept moving, it wouldn't catch him.

'_Negi, where're you going? I'm over here...'_

The boy lost his balance as the ground began to spin beneath him, shadows and fear taking the shape of a wet, cushy trap. The cushy ground seemed to swallow him up, holding him down. He struggled with this newfound enemy as the voice steadily grew louder.

'_I see you...I'm coming...'_

Negi's eyes shot open as he tore himself from his nightmare. He was tangled up in his blankets, drenched in his own sweat. He was breathing hard, raspy. He could hardly stop his hands from shaking as he undid the knot he had worked his sheets into, freeing himself.

"Negi-kun? Are you ok?" Konoka's voice wafted up from below the loft Negi used as a 'room'.

"Y-Yeah...I just had a dream, sorry," The blurry-eyed boy cast a glance over to Asuna's bed, but she was already gone. Damn paper route. He didn't want to sleep alone right now, but he couldn't intrude on Konoka...right? He let the thought wander as he laid back down.

Negi flipped his textbook shut, dismissing his rowdy class. He had to meet Shizuna in fifteen minutes. Something about a new faculty member. He was actually pretty excited about it. He already sort of knew him. He was a nineteen-year-old who came from the same 'hidden mage-world' that he did, though he was somewhat of an enigma. He had been pulled through a portal during the testing of a new spell, a spell which is now forbidden. They had only met a couple of times before Negi's departure for Japan, but he seemed to be nice enough.

"Negi-kun, are you even listening?" Makie asked loudly, putting her hands on her hips.

"Uh...of course...sorry, I'm just a little preoccupied, Makie-san. What were you saying?"

"Well, you know how Makie likes to dance?" Fuuka interrupted loudly, shoving Makie aside. "She was saying that, if you want, she'd dance on your pole for you," The older twin stated with a grin, while the younger one, Fumika, shook her head and tried to mouth to her teacher that her sister was a perverted liar.

"That's nice of her, but I don't have a pole, so I'll have to say no," Negi replied with an apologetic smile to Makie, whose face had gone blank at Negi saying he didn't have a pole. She was trying not to laugh, while at the same time fighting off the urge to hit Fuuka. "Anyway, I'll see you guys later, I have to get ready to meet Shizuna, now," The young teacher stated as he made off for the door, praying for no interruptions.

"What's he meeting with Shizuna-sensei for?" Konoka asked Asuna, completely unaware that her pigtailed friend was out like an alcoholic on St. Patrick's day. After asking two more times, the girl smacked her friend on the head with the little hammer she carried around with her. "Sleeping during class is bad, Asuna."

Kazumi Asakura, of the Mahora paparazzi, trailed after her teacher, making sure to keep far enough away that he never noticed her. The possibility of a new teacher was a scoop she was ready to look into, even though it sounded a little dull. Maybe he would be young and cute, or maybe he would be a murderer bent on death and terror, or maybe he would be a pervert set on debauchery and misconduct. Or maybe she could swing whatever she found to make it look like any of that...

Negi entered the headmaster's chambers, slowly approaching the large desk where the old man was patiently waiting. Shizuna was beside him, and gave the young boy a comforting smile. Asakura watched through the ajar door, smirking at how her pencil had come through for her, now wedged between the massive oak doors.

"You asked to see me, Shizuna-sensei?" Negi asked politely, a little smile playing across his face.

"Thank you for coming right over, Negi-kun," Shizuna replied sweetly. The look in her eyes, however, was a serious one. "We've asked to see you because we need to talk to you about the new teacher."

"Alright, what is it?"

"Negi-kun," The headmaster began, "The new teacher is going to be here for protection," The ancient man stated bluntly.

"Protection? F-From what?"

"You've been having dreams lately, haven't you? With a voice that is hunting you down?" The elder paused to allow the startled boy to give a shaky nod. "Well, we all have. I spoke with Takamichi-kun about it."

"Where is Takamichi? I haven't seen him in a few days," Negi admitted.

"We all agree that the voice in the dreams is more than just a coincidence, or the after-affects of a scary movie. The people who've been having the dreams have an aura about them, unmistakably magical, and apparently a type of targeting system."

Asakura held her breath as she heard this. She had been having a similar dream, herself.

"Targeting system? What do you..."

"Takamichi-kun told me that he was going to confront the voice and find out what was going on. That was four days ago," The old man said, a look of depression ghosting his face.

"What happened to him? Is Takamichi alright?" Negi asked, anxious. The old man didn't reply, so the boy looked to Shizuna for an answer.

"He hasn't woken up yet," She said quietly. Negi now realized the troubled expression that she bore. He hadn't caught it before, but he could now make out the bags under her eyes and see how her makeup hadn't been applied with the usual meticulous detail that he had grown used to.

"Where is he! Why did you wait four days to tell me this! I might be able to-"

"There is nothing you can do for him, and you know it," The headmaster stated calmly, his composure now returned. "He is safe, well as safe as he can be. The aura that the people with the dream has is a kind of targeting system, like I said before. Now that Takamichi is out of commission, we have to take measures to make sure no one can find him."

"What do you mean a targeting system? I don't understand."

"The aura is how the enemy knows who to attack. Haruka-sensei was attacked and killed in his home two days ago, though we've managed to keep the attention to the matter low. He, too, had been having the dream." Haruka had been a mage teacher, and not a weak one.

"Haruka...he's...dead? But I just saw him not even a week ago...this doesn't prove a connection to the dream, though," Negi forced himself to think clearly. He hadn't known Haruka all that well, but he considered him a friend.

"We captured the killer yesterday," Shizuna stated, her face a mixture of anger and sadness. The child teacher had never seen her look like that before. "We used one of Chao-Lingshen's devices to scan his mind. All we found out was that the aura is used to locate and single out targets for the enemy."

"That's all? Did the machine break?"

"The man killed himself before we could find out anymore. The situation's gotten very serious, very quickly. The headmaster sent off for assistance after the killer was caught and we discovered the existence of the targeting system. Unfortunately those on the other side, the magic world, are having some cases of this as well, so only one person could be sent. He'll be here later today."

Negi looked from one sensei to the other, his mind racing. Was Takamichi alright? Who exactly was this enemy? What if his students were having this dream? He'd have to pay careful attention from here on out to try and see the aura on any of them. The one thing he was sure of now was that he would protect them, no matter what.

"Negi-kun, you must not confront the voice in your dreams. Force yourself to wake up!" The headmaster commanded his young subordinate. "You now know what is currently going on...and I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to watch out for those you see with the aura, specifically among your students," The old man paused to glance at a picture of Konoka which graced his desk. "Do you understand?"

"I understand, sir. I won't let anyone, or anything, touch a hair on any of my students. I swear!" Negi stated seriously. Shizuna felt better when she saw the fire burning in his eyes, as opposed to the frightened and doubtful eyes she was half-expecting. Negi really did act like more of an adult than a child.

"Dismissed, Negi-kun. I will contact you if anything should happen."

Asakura sat there with the tape recorder in her hand, completely dumbfounded. She couldn't register that her teacher was coming in time to move, so the young boy tripped over her, both crashing to the ground. Dazed from his fall, it took the young boy a couple of seconds to realize that his face was planted firmly in his student's chest. He jumped up, babbling excuses and apologies.

"Negi-sensei...what you three said..."

Negi helped the paparazzi redhead to her feet, his eyes falling onto the tape recorder she had clenched in her hand. "How much did you hear?"

"All of it," The older girl stated, her usually mischievous eyes now glazed over with worry.

"Asakura-san...this is...don't worry, I'll handle everything. Please don't tell the others, I don't want them to worry!"

The first thing that came to Asakura's mind was how this was one of the biggest scoops she might ever come across. The second thing she thought of was how they might all be in real danger. She, herself, had already had the dream with the voice in it. "Sensei, do you see anything?"

"See...? On you?" Negi's mind nearly froze as he focused on the girl in front of him, a black and purple glow emanating from her. His mouth opened slightly, but no words came out. Asakura had the aura, which meant whatever it was that was in the dreams had already targeted her. How many of his other students could be targeted, then, if one was already chosen?

"Come on, let's go find Chamo-kun! He might know something about this!" Negi exclaimed, grabbing a hold of his student's arm and pulling her after him. The girl followed willingly, now afraid to be alone.

The two burst out into the daylight of the Mahora campus. They dashed for the subway, surprised to find how deserted the grounds were. They blew down the steps where Negi had first rescued Nodoka from a long fall, possibly saving her life. Asuna had caught him using magic, then, and that was how their relationship as 'friends' started. Asakura grabbed Negi, pulling him to a shaky stop.

"What is..." Negi let himself trail off, staring at the three men about ten feet in front of them. They were dressed in black cloaks, their faces veiled by the cliched happy and sad theater masks.

"Who are you?" Asakura asked, standing boldly beside her teacher.

"Death," One of the three men replied quietly, raising a hand.

Negi pushed Asakura out of the way, uttering his incantation as quick as he could, "Rastel maskil magister..." He swung out his staff, a flurry of magical arrows blazing through the air to counter the wave of darkness which now rushed him.

The darkness and the light exploded on contact, sending the boy skidding back a couple of yards. Before the dust settled, the three men burst through the haze and charged. Negi countered a punch with his staff as he dodged a sweeping kick by jumping up over the three. He let loose a second volley of arrows midair, blasting them all straight to hell. He landed on all fours, sliding to a stop. He stood up slowly, then brushed his shoulders off with a sigh.

Asakura couldn't help but take a picture of her victorious sensei. She had never seen anything that amazing!

Before Negi could say anything, though, the three men shot up into the air from out of the dust cloud, sending waves of shadows at him. He had no time to counter, he had no time to dodge. So much began in this place for him, was it going to end here, too? He closed his eyes and raised an arm to help absorb the hit, but it never came. A gust of wind roared through the area, dispersing the enemy's attack. Negi opened his eyes to see a man standing between him and the three men in masks.

The man was wearing a sleeveless black coat which trailed down at his feet and covered his mouth with its exaggerated collar. A faded grey bandana wrapped around his forehead trailed a couple of feet behind him in the wind. The kanji for 'the way of God' was emblazoned in silver on the back of the coat. A single-edged blade was strapped across back, as well.

The man slowly turned to glance at Negi through the corner of his eye. He brushed his long, dirt-brown hair out of his cerulean eyes before asking, "You alright, kid?"

The three cloaked men had already retreated after the new man had easily negated their attack. They would need to regroup and add him to their calculations.

Asakura rushed over to Negi and the man in black, quickly looking the boy over for any injuries. "I'm ok, really," Negi assured her, his eyes fixated on the man before him. "Connor, you made it," He said, his voice tinged with more than just a little thankfulness.

The new teacher had arrived.

_Author's other note: This is my first fanfic, so let me know what's going on. Should I scrap it, keep going, whatever. Thank you for taking the time. (This story is under my REAL screen name, 'Serac' on another site. Somebody already has it, here. :( )_


	2. To Stay With Sunshine

_-----Author's note: I do not own Negima, but the ideas and any other characters are my own.-----_

Negi unlocked his door, quickly ushering Asakura and Connor inside. The girl lowered herself to the ground, but Connor grabbed Asuna's desk chair and swung it out into the middle of the room, which he dropped onto.

"C-Connor-san, I don't think Asuna would like you sitting in her chair..." Negi mumbled uncomfortably, finding it hard to make eye contact with his new coworker.

"Just call me Connor, and she can deal with it. I'll sit on the floor when she licks it clean for me," The arrogant teen muttered casually, waving his hand back and forth as he rejected the idea of relinquishing the seat.

"E-Excuse me?" Asakura stuttered, staring at the teacher with a look of utter shock on her face. "You can't talk like that to him, or Asuna! You're a teacher, right? Why don't you try and act like one?"

In response to the girl's words, Connor spun in his chair, lifting his boots up onto the desk. His smirk hidden by his coat, he muttered, "That goes for you, too, Blaze."

"Connor, please," Negi spoke, giving the older teen a sincere look, "We need to be serious."

Allowing the smirk to fade away, the older teacher pulled his legs off of the desk, but stayed in the seat. "Alright, I know. So what is it you want to talk about? I can't tell you anything you don't already know, and there's nothing you can tell me." Connor's eyes fell on the girl a couple of feet from him. "You, too? What the hell do they want you dead for?"

"I don't know..." Asakura admitted quietly, "I've never gotten into anything that would count as a reason to want me dead. Negi-sensei is the biggest trouble I've ever gotten into, and it's been nothing but good, so far."

"Good? Yeah, ok. I've heard of your class's exploits, kid. You need a few lessons in discretion," Connor snickered as he turned his attention to the blushing ten-year-old.

"Let's...let's just ask Chamo-kun if he knows anything. Chamo, are you here?" Negi asked, looking around for his little furry ally.

"What's a Chamo? There's nobody in here, kid."

Asakura popped open Konoka's drawers to find the little white ermine snuggling with panties and bras. "I found the little pervert," She laughed.

After prying the little animal from the forbidden comforts he so loved, Chamo jumped across the room and onto Asuka's desk.

"The hell?" Connor muttered, standing up. "What is that thing, a freaking white rat?"

Chamo raised a paw, showing the teen his masterful finger. "Thanks for the input Mr. Tall, Dark, and Emo. Who is this joker, aniki?" The perky ermine asked, flicking a cigarette to life with a match.

"This is Connor, Chamo-kun. He's a new teacher here. He saved Asakura-san and I from some thugs in masks. Actually, that's what I need to talk to you about," Negi explained quickly.

"I'm not a Goth," Connor muttered, sitting back down.

After a slight nod from Negi, Asukara flicked her tape recorder on, rewinding it to the beginning for Chamo's benefit.

-

"Sorry aniki, I don't know anything about this," Chamo admitted with a frown as he lit a fourth cigarette. His little mind was racing, and a shot of nicotine was all he could think of to help slow it down. That and maybe a nice bludgeoning to the forehead. "I didn't even sense anything was off. That's scary."

"Well, as enlightening as that wasn't, I have things I need to take care of," The new teacher stated, rising to his feet.

"Wait, I have a favor to ask," Negi jumped in front of the man in black.

"What is it?"

"Could you...could you please help me watch over my students?"

Connor laughed, though it was mostly hollow. He couldn't laugh too much at a kid asking for help, especially in a serious situation. "Why should I help you watch over a bunch of ditzy girls?"

Asakura growled, but didn't say anything.

"Look here, ass-wipe!" Chamo jumped up and latched onto Connor's collar, staring at him straight in the eyes, "You're gonna help aniki, or I'm gonna spill your secret all over the campus, internet, and newspapers everywhere!"

"You don't know anything about me, so..."

Chamo scrambled up onto Connor's shoulder and whispered something into the teen's ear. Connor's eyes widened a little bit as he swallowed hard. "You feeling me now, Goth-boy?" Chamo asked, a nasty smirk covering his tiny face.

"I'll talk to the headmaster about backing you up, kid," Connor quickly conceded. "Since I'm taking Haruka's position, it wouldn't seem too off for me to be spending some time with you. Besides, since we already know one of them has been targeted, there's a good chance that some of your other students have been, too." The older teacher set Chamo onto the desk, and made for the door. He glanced over his shoulder before closing the door behind him, "I'm doing this because it needs to be done, not for you, you little rat."

Chamo laughed as the teen closed the door.

"What did you say to him, Chamo-san?" Asakura asked happily. She didn't like this new guy very much, and was glad to see him upset.

"That's a card I'm not gonna play today, sister. Just rest assured in the fact that I've got him well under hand. Aniki, I'll see what I can dig up on the Magi-net, you take care of everything else!" Chamo shouted, hopping over to the loft, where his little computer awaited.

"Ok! I'll...what should I do, Chamo?" Negi dropped the ball, his mind pulling up a big blank.

"Why don't you go see Evangeline? If she doesn't know what's going on either, she can at least help you get ready for beating off these clowns!"

Asakura sighed, "I don't think you said that right, Chamo-san."

-

Ku Fei's fist slammed into the crying mask, shattering it and sending the cloaked man soaring away. The Chinese girl spun to meet a second attacker, the kick thrust at her deflected with the flick of her wrist. She brought her elbow down on the man's knee, following up by palm shot into his chest, sending him to the ground hard. A broken leg and a couple of ribs should be enough to keep him down.

"What? Is all?" The blonde asked happily, turning around to find well over thirty men in crying masks staring her down. Some of them were up in the trees, giving her an automatic disadvantage because she couldn't track all of them at once. "Who is you guys?"

"Death," One of the men replied, raising a hand. All of them charged at this signal, ready to overwhelm the girl with sheer numbers.

Ku Fei now regretted coming out to train in the middle of nowhere. She was at least a mile from civilization, so she'd have to go this one solo. Well, as long as they couldn't use magic she'd be fine.

The master of martial arts ran in to meet her attackers, instantly swallowed up in a flurry of black wisps and fists. The one cloaked man lowered his hand, watching the girl beat his men away one at a time, a stupid grin plastered onto her face as she did so. Maybe she didn't realize that this was serious. The man knelt down, slapping his open palms onto the warm earth.

Ku Fei swung a leg up into one of the men, bending over to slam him into the enemy lunging at her from behind. The two tumbled to the ground, grunting with each bounce. Before another move could be made, a thick vine shot up out of the ground and bound the girl tightly. She was lifted into the air, and swung in a wide semicircle. She smashed through a tree, then was thrown up into the air above the canopy of leaves. A little stunned, she managed to flip and control her flight enough to be going down feet first.

"Is no fair! I no can do that!" She exclaimed, bracing for falling through the trees. Before she cleared the treetops, a stream of black burst through the leaves, making a beeline for her. Her face went blank as she realized there was no time to do anything.

The force from the impact sent her far above the treetops. The spinning girl became a tiny dot to the men below, almost blending in with the newly rising stars as the sun finally dropped below the horizon.

Ku Fei began the long plummet towards the earth, her pleasant smile no longer visible as the trouble she was in finally became apparent. Hundreds of the black magic streams exploded from out of the treetops, solidifying her worries. She gathered energy into her hands, ready to deflect as many of them as she could. The beams arced in the air to rain down from above her, driving her ever faster towards the rapidly approaching earth.

With her back to the ground, Ku Fei continued to fall, using precise timing to smack away the black magic as it came within reach. The girl's hands became a blur as she continued to counter the magical onslaught, now crashing through the trees as she moved. Her arm struck a branch, throwing her pattern off, allowing the magic the hole in her defenses that it needed. The waves of shadows spilled down over her, carving out a gaping hole in the ground as she finally hit.

The lead man of the attackers approached the small crater, dispelling the cloud of dust with the wave of his hand. He jumped down into the hole, grabbing the barely conscious girl by the hair. In an effortless motion, the cloaked figure leapt out of the hole, holding his trophy up proudly for the others to see. "Master will be pleased. We have one less enemy, after this."

Ku Fei coughed up a little blood, but forced a smile. "You guys fight dirty. Thirty beat one nothing be proud about," She stated in her broken Japanese.

"Still talkative? Let me fix that," The man muttered, carrying Ku Fei away. As he walked, he swung the girl head-first into a tree, breaking her through it. He snickered when he heard the Chinese girl whimper a little. A couple more ought to do it. He approached a second tree, and swung her towards it. Ku Fei swung her weight with him, throwing her captor off balance. Her feet grazed the ground, but that was all she needed. She pulled her head out of the man's failing grip, and snatched up his arm. She spun with him, smashing him through the tree this time. She continued to spin with him, though, slamming him into a large tree that refused to break from such an attack. She could hear the men behind her rush to help their leader. She was at least going to get in one more solid attack before going down, though. She didn't give the man before her enough time to catch his breath. The dark-skinned blonde balled up her fist and slammed it into the man's stomach so hard the tree burst apart.

She fell to her knees, unable to do any more. The guy who had treated her really bad was now buried in a mountain of splinters, so she was satisfied. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, expecting a lot of hurt to come her way. All she heard, though, was a couple of quick shouts accompanied by the sound of a blade whistling through the air.

She tried to turn around, but a firm hand on her shoulder stopped her. "You don't need to see," A strong voice assured her.

Ku Fei made the assumption that she didn't really want to see what mess now sat behind her. "Who you?"

The man stepped around the exhausted girl, helping her up. Ku Fei looked up into the man's shining blue eyes, her heart jumping up into her throat. "Connor Gavet. I know, a weird name. I'm not Japanese though, so I don't want to hear it." Connor looked the girl over, letting out a faint sigh as he saw the black and purple aura surrounding her. She was a target, too. He began to lead her back to the campus.

"I-I not Japanese either! I Chinese!"

"Oh? And what's your name, Sunshine?"

Ku Fei felt her face explode into a dark shade of red at him calling her 'Sunshine'. "K-Ku Fei," She replied sheepishly.

"Ku Fei...? You're one of Negi's students, right?"

"Yeah! You know Negi-bozu?"

"Sort of. That's right, you're the yellow idiot," Connor mumbled, looking at the class roster which the headmaster had given him.

"Yellow baka ranger! I-Is a study group...sort of," Ku Fei replied quickly, not wanting to make a bad impression. "But why you have that?"

"I'll be replacing Haruka as your PE instructor, and I'll be giving Negi a hand from now on. After all, how's a ten-year-old supposed to keep an eye on 31 teenage girls? Sounds a little impossible, to me."

"C-Connor-s-sensei?" Ku Fei stuttered, unsure if she was lucky that such a strong guy was going to be her teacher, or unlucky because now he'd end up seeing how stupid she really was.

"I don't do the honorifics thing. Just call me Connor, and I'll just call you Sunshine. It's no problem," The new instructor mumbled.

"How you find me way out here?"

"How could I not find you? I just hope that the other teachers can convince the students that the magic being thrown into the air all over the place really was a new kind of fireworks. Plus, I could follow the sound of a couple of trees falling over. It's not like you guys were trying to keep a low profile."

"I don't need you save me," Ku Fei stated, trying to make her teacher think she was tough.

"I saw what you did, I know you don't need my help. I just thought I'd save you the time near the end," Connor humored her.

"How much you see?"

"I'd say...the second half."

"Why you not help sooner!" Ku Fei exclaimed, though she quickly shut up. She did just say she didn't need his help.

"Don't worry, Sunshine, I wouldn't have let anything bad happen to you. Oh!" Connor stopped walking. "I think you should take the lead from here."

"Why?"

"It says here on your name, and somebody called Kaede, that I'm supposed to stay with you, for now," Connor stated, folding the roster up and sticking it into his pocket. He waited a few seconds for Ku Fei to keep moving, or even to say something, but she seemed frozen.

"You alright, Sunshine?"

"C-Come th-this way!" Ku Fei began to lead her new teacher to her dorm room. She could hardly walk straight, whether it was from the fight or from what she had just heard, she couldn't tell. Having Negi-bozu stay with her would have been great, but this guy? She was already thinking about all of the long, sweaty, exhausting, and incredibly fun training sessions they would be having.

Connor restrained a sigh as he stuck his hands in his pockets. Sunshine seemed nice enough, but he couldn't recall ever having signed up to babysit a bunch of hormone-happy girls. Sleeping in the same room with them seemed overkill, but what he had just seen helped him to realize that whoever the enemy was, they weren't playing around. He'd just have to be careful not to let any of the girls like him too much. That would be a complication he didn't need. How did Negi deal with this kind of life, he couldn't help but wonder.

_-----Author's other note: Feel free to review, letting me know that somebody out there is reading. Hm...also, feel free to drop any suggestions, too. No promises I'll listen, but who knows? If I like the idea, I may just use it. Thanks for reading...-----_


	3. Roomies

_-----Author's note: I do not own Negima!. Seriously. Any other characters and ideas, though, are my own. Enjoy.-----_

Kaede Nagase, standing all of six feet tall, knelt down and pressed her ear against her door. She could tell something was going on in there, but she hadn't been able to make out the words from a distance. One of the voices seemed to be a man's, she noted.

"No! It hurts! No put in again!" Ku Fei yelped, the sound of something being knocked over resonating through the door.

"I know it hurts at first, but you'll get used to it. It's not even that big, damn," The man's voice replied with a hint of sarcasm.

"I all wet! Untie me!" The Chinese girl exclaimed loudly.

Kaede's eyes widened a little bit, bringing them to only slightly open.

"I'd untie you if you'd cooperate, Sunshine, but the only way you let me do this is if I tie you down. You act like this is gonna scar you for life, or something."

The beautiful ninja flung the door open, leaping across the room and throwing a spinning kick into the man standing over her roommate. Ku Fei gasped, closing her eyes just before Connor took the kick to the face, flying back into the wall, which now sported several deep cracks. He slid down onto one of the beds, rubbing his cheek as it throbbed. His free hand shot up, catching the kunai a couple of inches from his face.

"Stop, Kaede! Is ok, he good guy!" Ku Fei stated, hopping around in her chair to face the new teacher.

Kaede, now full of confusion, turned to look at her blonde friend. "But you told him not to put it in you anymore, and that you were all wet..."

The brunette ninja now saw that Ku Fei was strapped to the chair with a wet sheet. He had soaked it so it wouldn't tear under the blonde's strength. She then looked over to the man in black sitting on her bed, still rubbing his face. The stranger hopped off the bed, dropping the kunai with a groan. He showed Kaede the sewing needle he had been using to stitch up some of Ku Fei's wounds from the earlier battle.

"Looks like we've got ourselves a misunderstanding. First off, there's a four or five year difference in our ages," Connor began.

'_That's never stopped the class rep,' _Both girls thought.

"Secondly, if I wanted to have my way with Sunshine I would have locked the door. Thirdly, if I wanted to have my way with Sunshine I wouldn't bondage rape her. What kind of a guy do you think I am?" Connor asked, folding his arms and giving the kunoichi a disapproving look.

"I don't even know you!" Kaede pointed out.

"So you just naturally assume the worst about me? I know you're the blue idiot, but really."

"Baka ranger. It's a...study group."

"That what I tell him! He not listen so good," Ku Fei pointed out. "Fast, untie me!"

Kaede smiled at her friend, taking note of the injuries and the half-finished sewing job. "Actually, I think we should let him finish. You shouldn't mislead people, Ku Fei."

"I not know you out there! When I mislead! This really hurt!"

"Like a kick in the face, right? Life's a bitch, Sunshine," Connor grumbled, approaching his whimpering roommate.

-

Negi rapped loudly on Evangeline's door, waiting for nearly a minute before repeating. Just before the child prodigy began to suspect that something was wrong, Chachamaru, decked out in her maid's uniform, opened the door.

"Negi-sensei, good afternoon. If you've come to see the master, she is currently taking a nap," The two bowed to each other as the robot spoke.

"A nap? But it's..." Negi cast a glance down at his wristwatch, "9:30. Do you think she's down for the night?"

"She has been asleep for nearly ten hours, now. I do not know why she is so tired, but I do not believe that she will care for visitors."

"Ten hours? Is she sick?"

"My scanners show that master's bodily fluid levels and temperature are within healthy parameters. She is simply exhausted," Chachamaru stated politely.

"Chachamaru-san, if I don't see master about this as soon as possible, she's going to be..." Negi had several thoughts shoot through his head. Most of them involved large amounts of involuntary blood donation. "She'll be mad," He decided to take the simple route of explanation.

With a second bow, the elegant robot stepped aside, allowing Negi inside. "Very well, I will go get her."

Negi sat down amongst the innumerable stuffed animals that littered Evangeline's cabin. For someone as infamous as she was, it seemed kind of contradictory for her to have so many cute toys lying around. Negi thought this all the time, but he always reminded himself that as the 'doll master', the self proclaimed pure-blooded vampire could make even these cute little guys into evil monsters. He shuddered every time he remembered this.

"Negi-sensei, I cannot wake master. I am now worried," Chachamaru re-entered the room, this time failing to bow. Her face, unable to show much emotion, was blank.

"She won't wake up? Take me to her, come on!" Negi jumped up to follow his robotic student.

Chachamaru led Negi to Evangeline's room, where the vampire appeared to be sleeping peacefully. She looked small and fragile, curled up comfortably beneath her heavy covers.

"Um, master?" Negi mumbled half-heartedly. He slowly approached his sleeping teacher, shaking a little bit as thoughts of her jumping up and biting him continued to flow through his head. "M-Master?" Negi whispered, reaching out an unsteady hand to poke the undead blonde. After a couple of light jabs in the shoulder, the young boy began to feel a little safer.

"I do not understand why she will not wake up," Chachamaru admitted.

Negi could see her chest rising and falling rhythmically, so he knew she was alright. She looked serene, sort of like a sleeping angel. His hand was already brushing her hair away from her face before he realized he was doing it. As soon as what he was doing registered, Negi jerked his hand away from his master's face, casting a glance over his shoulder at Chachamaru, who didn't seem to have noticed he had done anything. He quickly turned his attention back to Evangeline, a faint magic emanating from her finally catching his attention.

"Ch-Chachamaru-san..." Negi said quietly, looking over at the silent maid behind him.

"Yes, Negi-sensei?"

"Has Evangeline been having nightmares, lately?"

"Master does not have nightmares, Negi-sensei," Chachamaru stated bluntly.

Negi, however, having been inside the nightmare starring his father, knew this wasn't true. "With a voice, chasing her?"

"How did you know that, Negi-sensei?"

"Chachamaru-san, please get the headmaster on the phone!" Negi urged the robot to hurry, pointing towards the stairs.

Chachamaru, not one to argue, made her way down the stairs.

Negi looked Evangeline over, the black and purple magic surrounding her. He attempted to dispel it, but found it to be unmovable. Someone knocked on the door downstairs. "Maybe there wasn't anything I could have done for Takamichi, after all. Why would you both confront the voice?" Negi wondered aloud. This was a stupid question, he knew. Neither of them was the type to run from their problems. Evangeline, after all, was trapped in the Mahora all-girls academy because she had refused to stay away from the thousand master, Negi's father. The boy heard Chachamaru answer the door before he reacted, "Chachamaru-san, wait!" He yelled, rushing for the stairs.

The robot maid burst up through the floor in a rain of slivers, momentarily blinding the small teacher. He helped Chachamaru to her feet, looking around frantically for the ones after Evangeline. A black figure jumped up through the gaping hole in the floor, landing on Evangeline's bed. Before either could help their sleeping master, a blade had been drawn and was plunged through her and the bed.

"Evangeline!" Negi screamed, rushing the cloaked figure.

-

"It's not a date," Connor repeated, shoving his hands in his pockets as he escorted Ku Fei and Kaede off of the Mahora campus and out into the city.

"You're taking us out for dinner. Sounds like a date to me," Kaede sneered.

"Tell you what, when I get depressed and stumble across you out in the mountains, we can have a bath together. That'll be our first date," The teacher replied nastily.

Kaede wasn't sure how this guy knew about that time she had spent with Negi, but she didn't worry about it. She trusted him a little already because of Ku Fei's explanation on how the fight had gone, earlier. If he wanted to hurt her, he would have just stayed to the shadows.

"What you talk about, bath? That come out of nowhere," Ku Fei laughed.

"Heh, don't worry about it, Sunshine. Seriously, this is just so I can straighten everything up with you two. There are some things we need to talk about." Connor paused for a few seconds before adding, "And for God's sake, don't tell the other teachers about breaking curfew, alright?"

Both girls laughed, neither making the promise.

Connor pushed open the door to a little beef-bowl restaurant, his two students following. He dropped unceremoniously into one of the empty booths, sprawling out to take up all the room on his side. Ku Fei had moved to sit beside him, but quickly backed off to sit beside Kaede when she saw there was no room.

The three ordered, then waited for the waitress to leave.

"Why did you bring us here? Not the best place for a date, right?" Kaede nudged Ku Fei, who blushed and smacked her friend upside the head.

"It's not a date," Connor repeated for what felt like the hundredth time. "Take a good look around and then tell me why I picked here."

The girls looked around at the empty restaurant, then back at Connor.

"'Cause you cheap?" Ku Fei suggested.

"Because it's empty," Kaede answered.

"Right. I don't need everyone finding out about what I need to tell you, so keep it to yourselves, alright?"

"Ok, ok, we get! What you need say?"

"Those guys that attacked you earlier, the ones in the masks. That's why I'm here," Connor muttered quietly enough so that both girls had to strain to hear him. "They've been attacking people on the campus, and it's my job to stop them. Sunshine, you've been having a dream where a voice tries to catch you in the dark, right?"

"H-How you know that?" Ku Fei stuttered, confused.

"The dream is really a kind of magical targeting system. If the voice doesn't catch you, it at least leaves a magical aura around you which the enemy picks up on. It's how they track the people the ringleader wants dead."

"Who is the enemy?" Kaede asked in a low voice.

"We don't know. We haven't been able to track any of the enemies movements, and the only one we've managed to capture alive killed himself before we got anything of real use out of him," Connor grumbled, shutting up as the waitress set down their food.

Once she was out of earshot, Kaede continued, "I haven't had this dream. Does that mean they don't want me?"

"Right now that's about what it amounts to, yeah. Don't get me wrong, though. They'll remove you if you get in the way. Right now Sunshine, here, is the only one out of the three of us to be targeted. Since we'll all be staying in the same room, I thought filling you in," He gave a tip of his head to Kaede, "Would be the smartest move. I'm not going to be around all the time, so I can't help everyone who gets attacked."

"Those guys fight me because I have dream? That not make sense," Ku Fei said, in-between stuffing her face.

"We don't know why some people have the dream and some don't. Really, that redheaded camera girl is kind of a flimsy target, if you ask me," Connor stated, pulling his bowl closer to start in on it.

"Asakura-san has had the dream, too?" Kaede wondered aloud. She was feeling a little rejected, while at the same time relieved to not have had the dream. "Do we know anyone else who's had it?"

"Negi's had it, but those are the only two that I-"

"Negi-bozu have dream, too?" Ku Fei interrupted.

"Has he been attacked, yet? He knows what's going on, right?" Kaede asked after her boisterous friend.

Connor tried to make eye contact with Kaede, but her eyes weren't open enough for him to do so. Instead, he decided to try and make eye contact with Sunshine, but her eyes shot away as soon as they connected with his gaze. Her face went beet red. With a sigh, the teacher decided to just focus on his food. "Yeah, he knows. I bailed him and photo-girl out earlier today. He asked me to help watch over you guys."

"And what did you say?" Kaede wondered, her playful lips curling up into a little smile.

"I'll do what I want," Connor replied succinctly.

"You help me, though. So you say yes, right?"

"You're lucky you're cute, Sunshine," Connor held back his grin as his words had the desired effect. Ku Fei didn't seem able to speak anymore, her eyes wide and her mouth now full as she began to eat to kill any opening that might require her to respond.

"Conduct unbecoming a faculty member," Kaede reminded Connor with a smirk.

"I'm only a temporary faculty member," Connor replied with a snicker. "As soon as this blows over, I'll be out of here."

"Maybe you'll want to stay by the time this is over."

Ku Fei's eyes lit up as she gave her new teacher a pleading look.

"And maybe the other Chinese kid is a Martian. Not likely," Connor muttered through a grin.

-

"Evangeline!" Negi screamed, rushing the cloaked figure.

The scarlet-haired youth took to the air, slamming a kick into the man's side, sending him stumbling off of the bed. "Rastel maskil magister," Negi nearly shouted his incantation, thrusting an open palm towards his falling enemy. A surge of light collided with the cloaked man, smashing him through the wall and out into the moonlit ground.

Negi leapt through the new hole in Evangeline's cabin, and scooped the man up by the collar. A ball of white-hot energy formed in his free hand, which was poised to drill the man's face. He thrust his hand forward, only to have it come to an abrupt halt just before the man's masked face. The young teacher looked over his shoulder to find Chachamaru had stopped him from finishing the fight completely.

"Chachamaru-san! You saw what he did! Evangeline-san is...she's..." Negi's words began to fail him as his eyes watered up and his throat began to swell under the weight of holding back his tears.

"Master is fine, Negi-sensei," Chachamaru assured her upset instructor. "She cannot be killed by such means. She is, after all, the Undying Mage."

The magic in Negi's hand dissolved as he dropped the unconscious assailant to the ground. He heaved a big sigh of relief. Chachamaru was right. When Evangeline had helped him out in Kyoto, the white-haired boy had managed to carve out a large hole in her stomach, only to see it heal almost right away. He looked down at the person he had come dangerously close to killing, then up at Chachamaru, who released his hand.

"I...I'm sorry, Chachamaru-san," Negi sniffed, as he slowly stood up. He had almost done something unforgivable: taken another life. A tear slid down his cheek, but he quickly rubbed it, and the ones gathering in his eyes, away. He let out a little gasp as Chachamaru pulled him into a hug. After a couple of seconds of being surprised, Negi returned the gesture, burying his face into Chachamaru's uniform, muttering he was sorry.

The two eventually broke off the comforting hug, and both were now unsure of what to say. Chachamaru was routing excess energy to her cooling systems, attempting to avoid overheating. Why did Negi-sensei make her feel so off? Negi was still a little shaken up about what he had almost done. He was just glad one of his students had stopped him from becoming a killer. Demons were one thing, but people were another. He'd stick to simply blowing clothes off, occasionally. After all, it had worked up until this point, right?

"N-Negi-sensei, I will take master and this one to the headmaster. He will know what to do with them," Chachamaru stated, slinging the cloaked man over her shoulder.

"A-Alright, Chachamaru-san. But what will you do, now?" Negi motioned over to the half destroyed cabin. As a light wind breezed through, the cabin made groaning sounds as though it were going to collapse.

"I will stay with master."

"I don't know if you'll be allowed to," Negi remembered how he hadn't been told of Takamichi's condition, and how he had been stored away in hiding until they could find a way to wake him up. The headmaster was probably one of the only people who knew where he was. "You can stay with me and Asuna and Konoka-san! They won't mind, you can share the loft with me," Negi suggested happily. Since Chachamaru-san was a robot, it would be ok to sleep with her, he figured. Even Asuna couldn't argue against that. Not to mention he'd feel a lot safer with the robotic maid around.

"Sh-Share the loft?" Chachamaru felt her circuits overheating, and had to overhaul her coolant flow to keep from crashing. "I-I will consider it," She muttered, hurrying to retrieve her master.

-

Konoka yawned, pulling her covers back to hit the sack. Negi was still awake, even though it was past eleven. Normally she couldn't keep him up that long to save his life. One of the down sides of being ten, she recalled. A knock at the door drew the headmaster's granddaughter away from her bed. "Who would come over here this late? We're gonna get in trouble..."

Konoka opened the door, surprised to find Chachamaru on the other side. "What are you doing here so late?" Konoka asked, forcing down a second yawn.

Negi hopped down from the loft, greeting his new bunkmate with a smile and bow. "I'm glad you came, Chachamaru-san," He said happily.

"You should have told me you were expecting company so late Negi-kuuuuuun..." Konoka couldn't keep down her third yawn.

"Master is performing a task for the headmaster, and will be away for a while," Chachamaru lied, as was instructed by the headmaster. "Negi-sensei has suggested that I stay here with you three. I have agreed," Chachamaru stated, bowing in return to her teacher.

"But where will you sleep?" Konoka asked, a finger to her lips as she ushered her robotic classmate inside.

"She'll be sharing the loft with me," Negi answered happily.

Asuna rolled over in her bed, as though something that just happened bothered her.

-

"Mana, huh?" Connor muttered, entering a staring contest with his third roommate, who didn't care to have him around.

Kaede had already explained everything to her, but the lengthy Puerto-Rican/Japanese girl had yet to lower her gun from her new teacher's forehead.

"If you really are our new teacher, why aren't you staying in an apartment, like the other teachers?" Mana asked menacingly.

"I'm only doing as the headmaster tells me to. Besides, I can keep a better eye on Sunshine if I'm here. Negi asked me to watch over his...obviously-incapable-of-protecting-themselves students, anyway. How could I turn such a little guy down?" Connor asked, paired with a grin and a shrug.

"You sleep on the floor," Mana lowered her gun, making her way over to the closet they all shared.

"But what if I get lonely?" Connor grinned, catching the blanket thrown at him with his face.

"No have more pillows. You borrow this one, is fine," Ku Fei offered her pillow to Connor, who accepted it with thanks.

"I like you best, Sunshine," He leaned in and whispered, "With the grades you're gonna be getting from me, you won't be the yellow idiot for much longer."

Ku Fei smiled happily at being called his favorite, entering the bathroom as Kaede exited it.

Connor dropped the pillow to the floor, and tried the best he could to get comfortable. What was that smell? It smelled like...nice. Yeah, it smelled like nice. A kind of undescribable nice. The pillow? Connor muffled a snicker with his blanket, rolling over onto his side. _'Sunshine smells good,' _He laughed to himself. Tomorrow he would have to deal with a class, all while dealing with the ever present threat of an attack by the enemy. He could only hope that the majority of Negi's students weren't as nasty as Mana. He at least hoped most of them were normal. Really, what were the odds of all of them having some sort of issue?

_-----Author's other note: It's true, I looked and looked, but I couldn't figure out who roomed with who. I think Kaede and Mana are reasonable roommates for Ku Fei, though, since I didn't want to use Chao Lingshen, for those of you out there who know who that is. Anyway, just bear with the current rooming rosters, even if it seems kind of off. In case anyone's wondering: Yes, the characters I like will have more prominent roles than ones I don't like, and yes, Asuna will have lines coming up.Reviews are welcome and encouraged!Thank you for reading.-----_


	4. A Teacher's Beginning

_-----Author's note: I do not own Negima, though all other characters and ideas are my own. Any likeness to any real person, dead or alive, is purely coincidental. Hm...I feel like I should forget English and shoot for a law major, now.-----_

Negi's eyes slowly opened, the rising sun outside let loose a blaring light through the window which forced him to wake up. He felt so warm and comfortable, wrapped up nice and safe in his own little world of pleasure. Man, sleeping was nice. What made this particular morning even nicer, though, was that he was safe and warm in Chachamaru's arms. For once in his life since coming to Japan, someone came to his bed rather than him having to crawl into someone else's. Yeah, life was-

Asuna grabbed the happy and groggy ten-year-old by the hair, jerking him from the comfort of his loft. He waved his arms around as Asuna held him up to her face, her eyes slanted into a frown only the young teacher could bring out.

"What the hell are you doing?" She asked, pointing a questioning finger the Chachamaru, who was sitting with her legs folded beneath her. She bowed as Asuna pointed.

"She just needed a place to stay, Asuna-san!" Negi yelled, trying to shake free from his roommates iron grip. "It's ok, really! Ow, ow, ow!"

"I don't remember you asking me if you could bring whoever you wanted into my room!"

Konoka grinned at the two as she went about making breakfast.

"Chachamaru-san isn't just anyone! And I stay here too, you know! Asuna-san, you're gonna pull out all my hair!"

Asuna dropped Negi to the floor, turning to look at the possible robotic pedophile, "And what's your excuse for sleeping with a ten-year-old?"

Chachamaru, with Negi's help, lied her way out of what had actually happened to Evangeline. They were going to have to stick with the story about her being off on a mission for the headmaster until he found out how to wake her up. Takamichi had already been gone for five days by this point, but since he was always moving abroad no one suspected anything.

"Breakfast's ready," Konoka announced. "Hurry up, if we miss our train we're screwed!"

-

"I look like a dou-"

"You're with three women. At least pretend to have some class," Mana cut Connor short, looking the new teacher up and down. He was decked out in a new brown suit, courtesy of the school. He looked sort of like a teacher, except his arms were folded and he refused to take his bandana off.

"It not that bad..." Ku Fei mumbled. The suit didn't compliment him all that well, hiding his muscles and killing his self-esteem. It showed, too. Every inch of Connor's face described pure disdain for the dorky looking, uncomfortable clothes.

"I'm supposed to be a bad-ass. Or at least, on an off day, a tough guy. Who's gonna take me serious wearing this crap?" Connor asked, looking each of his roommates square in the eye.

Ku Fei raised her hand, but Kaede and Mana simply made for the door. "We're gonna be late," They both called over their shoulders.

"I think you bad-ass," Ku Fei offered as she walked through the open door.

"Thanks for trying, Sunshine," Connor groaned as he followed after his three students.

-

Negi met up with Connor in the hallway outside of his class. The boy couldn't help but snicker at his new aid, who was pulling at the clothes with a grimace on his face.

"Brown not your color?" He asked with a smile and a bow.

"Looks better on your nose. I like you better when you're kissing ass, kid," Connor returned sharply, failing to bow.

Negi, who recalled Connor's behavior from back in Wales, simply laughed, "When did I ever kiss up to you? The headmaster is having you help me, after all."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't forget that's why I'm doing this. Those punks in there, and that damn rat don't mean a thing to me," Connor insisted.

"I heard that you were staying with Kaede-san, Mana-san, and Ku Fei-sensei," Negi brushed away his aid's mean attitude. "Did you get along with them?"

"Ku Fei-sensei? What is there for her to teach you?"

"She teaches me martial arts. Ever since the trip to Kyoto," The boy assumed Connor knew when this was, "She's been helping me out."

"I don't know. I think Mana wants to shoot me in the knees, and I don't think Kaede cares as long as I keep in line. I get along with Ku Fei, though. She's definitely the best of the bunch."

"It's good to hear you're getting along with...well, at least one. But you've still got 28 more girls to meet before everything's said and done," Negi reminded his friend. He could hear the girls doing something with the door which was only a couple of feet away from him.

"27," Connor corrected the boy. "I already met camera-girl. Don't think she liked me, either."

"You're still batting .250, though. It could be worse. Come on, we'd better get in there," Negi murmured as the bell began to ring. The boy teacher froze as his hand came within a few inches of the door. "Um, why don't you go in first?"

"Don't be such a wuss. It's just an eraser, for God's sake," Connor threw open the door, a hand raised to catch the eraser as it dropped over him. He lobbed the eraser over to its spot with the blackboard, stepping deep into the room, and deep into trap central.

He felt a wire snap as his foot grazed it. The nimble teacher's arms shot out as he bent over backwards, his head nearly touching the ground. A couple of the girls gasped as he caught a couple of the suction-cup arrows that whizzed towards him. The others missed completely, unable to even graze him he moved so fast.

Not believing all of the traps were gone, since Negi had yet to enter the classroom, Connor ventured further. After another couple of steps, he felt a second trip-wire snap. He heard something snap above his head, and stepped to the side. A bucket full of water splattered all over the ground where he had been standing.

'_He fell for it!' _Fuuka thought triumphantly, a big grin plastered onto her face. Dodging the bucket would be his biggest mistake.

Connor now noticed that he was standing in some kind of yellow powder. The water from the bucket splashed over the yellow mess, creating a thick, sticky goo. Connor now found that he was glued to the spot, with yet another trap on it's way.

Asakura, ready with her pair of scissors, snipped the little wire beside her. A small section of the wall beside the teacher's desk dropped, ten locked and loaded paint-ball guns were revealed. Haruna Saotome held in her hands the scissors which could cut the wire of the newbie's dignity, releasing the flurry of ten shots with a single motion. Or, she could be benevolent and spare the new teacher from the embarrassment he had coming his way. This was something that needed to be carefully analyzed and thought over, she knew. That's why it took her a whopping tenth of a second to cut the wire. Really had to play out the morals of that one.

'_Damn! The hell kind of pranksters are these kids?'_ Connor thought.

Ku Fei grimaced as she heard the shots go off. She didn't want to see what was about to happen, but she couldn't look away. It was like a car wreck. You don't want to see it, but you don't look away, either.

The teacher's hands shot out in front of him, moving so fast that only Kaede was able to keep up. Holding his breath to see if anything else was coming, Connor waited for a couple of seconds in silence. Once he was sure he was 'safe', he raised his hands to the students, showing them the eight paint-balls he had caught. Each one was placed perfectly in-between his fingers, one in each space.

"Where are the other two?" Fuuka asked loudly, upset and amazed that her traps had failed.

Connor opened his mouth just a little, spitting the remaining two paint-balls out onto the floor, one at a time. "Don't you guys think that was a little overkill?" He asked the stunned classroom. "I mean, yeah I'm new, but geez."

Negi, pleasantly surprised that none of the traps worked, entered the now safe classroom. He took his place beside Connor, in front of his desk. With a grunt, Connor jerked his boots free of the yellow glue. He was glad he hadn't worn those wussy dress shoes that the headmaster had provided.

"This is Connor Gavet, and he will be my aid from this point on. He will also be doubling as your new PE teacher while Haruka-sensei..." Negi's voice suddenly cracked as he said his deceased friend's name. He cleared his throat before continuing, "While he is on vacation. Now that you've had your ritualistic trap-hazing," The class laughed as they remembered how they had managed to completely nail the boy, "I expect you to treat him with as much respect as you have shown me."

'_Not that that's saying much,' _Connor thought, folding his arms.

"He doesn't like the Japanese honorific system, so don't be offended if he calls you by your name only. Also, you may call him by his first name. You may speak to him as you would me, and I encourage you to ask him questions. Well, now that all of that's been settled, please open your textbooks to page 177 so we can get started."

Though some of the girls were a little reluctant to begin, they listened nonetheless. The lesson went more smoothly than normal. Everyone sat in their seats, patiently waiting for the bell to start screaming, signaling their freedom. Well, until the next class, anyway. Some of them were working on questions for the new guy to see what he was made of, while some were working on crushes, getting lost in his deep blue eyes. Asakura had already told them the little bit she knew about him, namely his age, hair and eyes, approximate height and weight, and bad attitude. Right now, though, he was looking good. Attitude and all.

Once the bell began to ring, the girls all slammed their books shut and started to get up. "Hold on a second," Connor raised a hand. "Sit back down, there's one thing left."

The girls, groaning and complaining, sat back down.

Connor slowly made his way to the back of the classroom, where Evangeline's empty seat sat. "I understand that pranks are a common thing for you ladies, and that's fine, I respect that," He paused in front of a poster of an English poem, reaching out for it. "Lots of people think that pranks and stuff like that are just for kids. But, that's just what old people who've lost the will to live think."

A couple of the girls snickered, but some were offended.

"Actually, I'm only nineteen. Does that really qualify me as a full-blown adult?"

There were some scattered answers, but the ones that rang out the loudest were 'no's.

"Then since I'm not an adult, it's perfectly alright for me to do this," Connor pulled the wire he had placed behind the poster.

The ceiling squares above each student's desk flipped down, large water balloons smashing on top of each girl but one. Ku Fei looked around at her soaked and screaming classmates, completely dry.

Negi's mouthed dropped open, his eyes wide.

"Ok, now you can go," Connor muttered through a grin.

-

"You blow their freaking clothes off. I just soaked them down a little bit."

"That was not a good way to start off! Besides, I don't ever MEAN to blow their clothes off!" Negi exclaimed, taking a little bite out of his sandwich. He and his aid were eating up on the roof, watching the clouds.

"Uh-huh, sure. What can I say? Getting ladies wet just comes naturally," Connor muttered, grinning to himself as he thought back to sneaking out of his room and setting up the trap. He wouldn't have used it if they hadn't used a trap on him, first.

"What are you grinning about? Was there some kind of innuendo in there that I didn't get? Don't talk nasty in front of the students, ok? You're going to get us both in trouble if you can't behave."

"Not to worry, private polite," Connor saluted the boy, "I'll play nice."

-

Connor's eyes wandered across the group of thirty girls in their gym shorts and tight shirts. Some of them looked a lot older than fourteen or fifteen. Some looked his age or better. They were all out at the tracks, waiting for their newbie teacher to get the class going.

"So...how many of you were held back a couple...I don't know, four or five years?" Connor managed to ask. "I-I mean...ok, this is what's gonna happen. The headmaster thinks that some of you don't take this class all that seriously. That it's just an easy 'A'. Well you know what? You're right."

A couple mouths dropped, but nobody was upset.

"You'd pretty much have to develop blindness paired with an allergy to sunlight to fail this class. And since none of you are blind or allergic to the sun, I think we'll do fine. Now, I want you to jog ten laps around the track, and you're done," Connor stated, folding his arms.

"Does the headmaster know what you're doing?" Yue Ayase asked, a little juice-box with a label Connor had never seen in her hands.

"I spoke with him about this particular drill, and he agreed. Thing is, if you don't finish the ten laps before the period ends, you'll have to help that drag of a human Nitsuta file out some paperwork that's backed up."

The entire class groaned, a couple people hurrying to the track to get going.

"This will be a piece of cake!" Makie Sasaki yelled, her feet pounding the grass as she dashed for the orange track. Once her foot hit the track, however, a gargantuan explosion of flour sent her rocketing right back into the group.

"What the hell!" Chisame Hasegawa shouted, backing away from the settling flour cloud.

"Oh, did I forget to mention? I've set out a couple thousand of Chao Lingshen's practice chameleon mines. They skitter around, they blend in almost perfectly with the surrounding area, and are actually pretty fun to play with. I mean...they're good for training," Connor snickered.

Makie's eyes were still swirling when she managed to stand back up. "That's not fair! You just set this up because if you can get us to file the paperwork you won't have to! That's a teacher's job!" She exclaimed, pointing at Chizuru, thinking it was Connor.

"Oh? I hadn't thought of that," Connor muttered wryly, "In any case, you're all wasting the period by arguing with me. The headmaster actually backed me up fully on this, so there's no going against it. Nitsuta would appreciate the help, too, I'm sure."

The group rushed off for the track, and the explosions ensued.

-

"Where are Asuna-san and Konoka-san? They've never been this late, before," Negi mumbled. It was already 10:30, and the only roommate of his to come back so far was Chachamaru.

"They are assisting Nitsuta-sensei in filing some paperwork that has backed up, Negi-sensei," Chachamaru informed her worried teacher.

"Oh, that's all it is?" Negi breathed a sigh of relief. Neither of them had the aura, but he still worried. The boy climbed under his covers beside Chachamaru, letting the warm hum of his bed-mate's electronics help relax him. "Good night, Chachamaru-san."

-

"Nice job pulling through the laps today, Sunshine," Connor congratulated his favorite student. The two were in their room, waiting for Kaede and Mana to get back from Nitsuta's office. "I'm kinda surprised that the ninja girl didn't make it, though."

"Is weird. She usually much better," Ku Fei admitted. She couldn't help but think that the kunoichi had purposefully failed the task, though. Her tripping up Mana so many times couldn't have possibly been an accident.

"Well, Sunshine, I guess I'll see you tomorrow," Connor said, getting down onto the floor. He got under his blanket, and laid his head down onto the nice smelling pillow.

"I..." Ku Fei mumbled, her eyes wandering around the room.

"What's wrong?"

"I have...I have dream last night."

"You...but you're ok," Connor assured her, "You just gotta keep moving."

"You sit with me?" The Chinese girl asked quietly, trying hard to make eye contact, but failing.

"Conduct unbecoming a faculty member," Connor quoted Kaede.

"You only temporary faculty," Ku Fei quoted Connor.

The teacher grinned at his student, though he was worried inside. Kaede and Mana would be coming back...well, sometime tonight they would be coming back. If either one found the two sleeping together, even if innocently, there was a good chance of him getting kicked out of there faster than he could say 'I'm not a pedophile'. But how could he say no to her? Something about Sunshine made him feel good, and he didn't want to make her upset. In the end, that's what won over.

"Alright, but as soon as I hear someone coming I'm back on the ground."

Ku Fei scooted over to make room for Connor, who sat on the end of the bed near her feet.

"Why sit way down there? I move for you," The girl pointed out, indicating the spot she wanted him to sit with a nod of her head.

Not wanting to do anything that would make either feel too awkward, Connor simply did as he was asked. He had to lay back to face her, though, which was what she wanted. The two lay side by side, one happy, one tired, and both a little embarrassed.

"Why you not hit me with water balloon?"

"No reason to hit the one person here I like. Besides, I still had twenty some other targets."

"Why you like me?"

"Why...?" Connor wondered aloud, grinning at the curious girl, "Because your Chinese accent is cute," He laughed.

"You like me because I not talk right?" She pouted. That wasn't exactly the response she had been hoping for.

"You should be happy that I like how you talk. It means I enjoy the whole package. You don't have to be perfect, like God knows how many of those other kids I'm stuck with..."

"They my friends! Be nice," Ku Fei said, giving Connor a serious look.

"Then they can't all be bad, I guess. So who do you like, then? Give me some kind of direction on who I should bother talking to." Ku Fei ended up talking about her classmates, which was a topic she wasn't particularly interested in at the moment. But having him lie on her bed right next to her was enough to fight off any dissatisfaction. Being able to talk to him without stuttering was nice, she found.

Once she felt she had given enough information on the class, silence fell over the two. Wanting to keep things going, and about ready to satisfy her curiosity, Ku Fei asked, "You have girlfriend back home?"

Connor thought for a minute. Ever since the girl of his dreams had died, he hadn't even looked for another relationship. That was back before the portal, though, that pulled him out of his dreary reality. "No, I guess I don't."

"That sad, Connor."

"Not really," The teacher looked over to the girl beside him, "I play my best games solo, anyway."

"You ever think of looking for girlfriend here?" The girl fished for a little hope.

"I've only been here a day-and-a-half. I've got a lot to focus on with the dream and the aura, too, so my social life probably stands to wither a little. If I ever do want a girlfriend, though, I'll let you know, Sunshine," Connor grinned, jumping up as he heard footsteps approaching.

Mana opened the door, pleased to find Connor on the floor, and Ku Fei in her own bed. Kaede was right behind, but she was a little disappointed with what she found. Ku Fei had been lacking in the love-interest department for as long as she had known her. Now that she had a crush on this guy, a particularly strong and reclusive guy, she would do her part to help her friend out.

'_Man, I love this smell,' _Connor thought, rubbing his cheek against the pillow.

_-----Author's other note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Hm...it's 4:30 in the morning now that I'm finally finished. Yeah, that's my dedication to you: the reader (It really was 4:30 when I finished. Seriously). Show me some love (or hate, if that's how you roll) with a review. Ku Fei is probably my favorite, so get used to seeing her if you're a reader. I like Yue, too, so I plan to work her in soon. I'd like to personally thank Dark Overlord Bane for my first review; Thanks! Good to know someone out there is enjoying it! Anyway, thanks everyone for reading.-----_


	5. Killer Queen

_-----Author's note: I do not own Negima, but any other characters and ideas are my own. By the way, my name is not Connor, and Connor does not represent me, for any of you out there who may think this is a self-insertion. He's just a character from a previous story who I wanted to bring back into my writing. Anyway, enjoy!_

Negi stood before Connor's door, his hand raised to knock, though he hadn't been able to bring himself to follow through with the action for the last several minutes. He was lost in thought, reflecting on what he had been told, only hours ago...

"_He did it, too?" Negi asked quietly, his eyes lowered to the ground, wide in shock and confusion._

"_Yes. He severed his spine with magic during the interrogations. It happened in an instant, he didn't feel anything," The headmaster tried to console the ten-year-old teacher. The two were in the headmaster's office, the early morning sun flooding the room a deep red color. The old man felt bad for having to involve Negi in such dark matters, but he needed to know. This was a time they all needed to pull together to protect those who couldn't protect themselves._

"_So...we don't have any more information to go on than we did before, do we?" The little teacher was disheartened that the masked man he and Chachamaru had captured at Evangeline's cabin had proven to be just as fruitless as the first captured enemy. Were they all so fanatical that they would simply kill themselves to avoid interrogation?_

"_That's not quite true..." The headmaster stepped up from his desk, slowly making his way across the room to open some of his cabinet doors to reveal a television, which he flipped on. The screen now showed a black and white picture of a cell-like room. A man in a black robe sat across from three other men. Negi recognized them as some of the school's mage teachers. _

"_Is that him?" Negi asked quietly._

"_It is. He looks like a normal man, doesn't he? It's odd how that works," The headmaster confirmed the man in black as Evangeline's assailant._

_The teachers began to interrogate the man, this time steering clear of Chao Lingshen's mind scanner. The machine might force the man to act irrationally, ending his own life before he involuntarily revealed anything about the voice. After several minutes of one sided conversation, the man in black began to laugh. The teachers shut up, staring at the laughing man, waiting for him to stop._

"_You think I'm going to tell you anything? Master is almost there...almost perfect. There's no way you can stop her, not ever," The man spoke through his laughter. He was crying a little, but they couldn't tell if it was from laughing or not._

"_Who is she? Where is she?" One of the teachers demanded._

"_Pray for me, master!" The man shouted. His eyes rolled up into the back of his head as he slid off of his chair, collapsing onto the floor in a heap._

_Two of the teachers rushed over to him, while the third flipped out a cell phone, "Headmaster? Yes...he did...I know...I know...no...yeah...I understand. Yes, I'll be over right away," The teacher slid the phone back into his pocket, turning to glance at his two associates. They shook their heads, which was all the signal the third teacher needed to walk away._

"_Did you catch anything in there which would be helpful to us?" The headmaster asked, turning the tv off and returning to his desk._

"_He...he said 'she'. Does that mean that the voice i-is a girl?" Negi stammered._

"_I believe it does. Did you notice anything else?"_

"_He asked her to pray for him. B-But does that mean that these guys are some kind of religious cult!"_

"_I don't know if we can go that far, but they definitely have some sort of connection to one of the shrines in the city..." The headmaster ducked under his desk, rummaging through one of the many drawers. He reemerged a few seconds later, a shiny bronze key in hand, "This was the one possession he had on him."_

_Negi accepted the key when it was offered, looking it over slowly. One word was scratched out, leaving the other alone on the end of the key. "Shrine..." Negi read aloud. "But which one? There are hundreds of shrines in the city!"_

"_It's quite troublesome, I know. I already have several people working on discovering the key's lock, but it may take quite a while. Negi-kun, I've asked you here because I would like for you to take the key and try and find out where it goes."_

"_B-B-But...headmaster that's a big deal! I'll have to leave the campus, too! I won't be able to keep an eye on my students!"_

"_Don't worry about that. I've already spoken with Setsuna, Mana, and Kaede. They have not been targeted by the voice, and can help protect the others," The headmaster explained._

"_Well...alright! I'll do it."_

"_Negi-kun, this may end up being dangerous for you, so I would like for you to take someone with you."_

"_D-Do you have anyone in mind?"_

Negi finally knocked on his aid's door. A few seconds later Ku Fei answered.

"Negi-bozu! Why you here?" She asked, stepping aside to let her teacher in.

"I've actually come to see Connor. Is he here?"

"He still sleeping," Ku Fei pointed to the man in black, who was snoring quietly on the floor.

"But it's almost twelve on a Sunday afternoon! Connor, get up!" Negi called over to his aid, who rolled over.

"Go away you little punk...I'm trying to sleep, here."

"We have something we need to take care of. It's kind of important," Negi mumbled, making sure not to look at Ku Fei.

"Ugh..." Connor sat up, rubbing his eyes, "Fine, what is it?"

-

"This is like looking for a needle in-"

"Please don't say a stack of hay or a stack of needles,"

"I was gonna say in a...hospital...yeah," Connor muttered, folding his arms as he and the young teacher, Negi, strolled through the streets of the city, shrines popping up every couple of minutes. "Man, do you people do anything but pray? How many shrines does one city need?"

"What do you mean, 'you people'? I'm British, I'll remind you! The Japanese people, this city, too, are elegant and refined. Shrines don't just stand for religion, they also..." Negi trailed off as three of his students came rocketing towards them, riding triple on a bike. With a surprised yell, Negi dove aside as the three girls flew by him.

Negi jumped up, a shaky smile finding its way onto his lips as he saw his aid already handling the situation. The new teacher had caught two of the girls by the backs of their collars as they sped recklessly by, but the third had crashed into a cluster of bushes, her legs sticking up into the air.

"Well, now. Kakizaki Misa," Connor mumbled, raising the first girl up a little higher, "And Shiina Sakurako," He then raised the other one. "That must mean the third one is...what's her name, again?" Connor dropped the two cheerleaders, who each laughed a little.

"Madoka!" Negi called out, rushing over to the third cheerleader, pulling her out of the bushes. The two tumbled to the ground, Madoka landing on top.

Connor laughed at Negi and his now compromising position. He must have wanted it to happen. Even subconsciously, there's just no way something like that would just happen. He turned a good-humored smile towards the two cheerleaders he had snagged off of the bike to ask them if they felt the same, but his words caught in his throat as his gaze fell onto the girl's eyes, which were glued to his face. He waited for a couple of seconds to see if they were going to ask him something, but neither girl spoke. They just kept staring, a sort of glazed look in their eyes.

"Is there something on my face?"

"Yeah, a bucketful of hot," Misa stated in a love struck voice.

Connor looked from one girl to the other, now realizing that they didn't have glazed eyes, it was the infamous schoolgirl-love-sparkle he was seeing. He felt somewhat uncomfortable after this realization, and only managed a feeble reply, "Flattery will get you nowhere, cheerleader 1," He mumbled, looking away to his companion, who was trying to get out from under the dazed and blushing Madoka.

"You already have a boyfriend, anyway, Misa!" Sakurako exclaimed, jumping up and throwing her arms around Connor's neck from behind, "This one's mine!"

The patient teen waited for the girl to lose interest and let go of her own free will, but when she nestled her head against the side of his neck, he needed to do something, "Hey, now, cheerleader 2!" He said, wheeling around to try and shake her off, "Conduct unbecoming a faculty member!" He quoted Kaede for the second time.

"We aren't in school right now! Come on, you like it too, don't you?" Sakurako purred, rubbing her cheek against her teacher's neck, sending chills down his spine and goose bumps all over his body.

"N-Negi!" The man in black stuttered, looking over to the other teacher for help. Madoka and him were on their way over already, he was grateful to find.

"Sakurako-san, please release Connor! He'll get in trouble if anyone else sees you like that," Negi said calmly, his face still a little red from his closeup encounter with Madoka.

"Aw, Negi-kun..." Sakurako whined as she released her teacher's neck, "That's not fun..."

"What are you three doing out here, anyway? We've got a test tomorrow, you should be studying," The little teacher gave a gentle reminder to his students.

"We already did!" The three cheerleaders said in unison. This was true. They had devoted an entire twenty minutes to the past week's homework in preparation for the test. Madoka had done more, but was unable to convince the other two to bother. Mahora was, after all, just an escalator school.

"If you say so, ladies," Connor cut in, "Me and Negi have some things to take care of, so we'll be leaving now. Come on, mini-man," He waved for Negi to follow him as he began to walk away. Sakurako and Misa moved to follow him, while Negi remained in place. With a groan, Connor stopped.

"Did you three want something from us?" The small teacher asked politely.

"Actually, we came out here to find you. Asakura told us that you were trying to unlock something, or something like that. She was a little fuzzy with the details, but we can help," Misa explained.

"You're trying to find the key to Connor-sensei's heart, aren't you? You want him to open up and love us, don't you Negi-kun?" Sakurako asked with a little smile, getting up close to her diminutive instructor.

"I-I...think..." Negi muttered, Sakurako much too close for his comfort, "Th-That C-Connor loves...already loves Ku Fei!" The boy exclaimed, pointing to Connor and shutting his eyes, doing the one thing he could think of to get Sakurako to back up a little.

"Wh-What!" Misa exclaimed, turning an astounded stare to Connor, as did Sakurako.

Connor lifted a slow hand up, briefly pointing a finger at Sakurako, "Don't call me sensei," He said bluntly. He turned to face Negi, whose eyes were wide, his face blank as he awaited some kind of scolding. Connor now spoke in English, "Nice job, kid. Maybe that'll get these girls off of my case. Sunshine's cool, she'll play along enough for it to pass. Quick thinking, I like it..." He let himself trail off as he began to walk away.

Negi, pleasantly surprised, hurried after.

"H-Hey! No fair! Speak Japanese!" Sakurako shouted after the two.

"If you'd done your homework right, you might've caught what I just said..." Connor laughed over his shoulder.

"So..."

"He loves..."

"Ku Fei?" The three cheerleaders wondered aloud, each one looking at the other two for some kind of solid answer.

When none came, Madoka shrugged, busting out her pom-poms and striking a pose, "As the Mahora cheerleaders, we will support their...hey, you guys..." Misa and Sakurako were slouching against a building, gloomy that their hot new teacher had a different love interest. "This doesn't work if you two don't do it, too!"

"Too upset...can't focus..." Sakurako groaned.

"Come on, if it's true we should be happy for Ku Fei!" Madoka said, pulling her friends back up to their full height.

"You're right...we know...ok!" Misa pulled out her pom-poms, now, and did the pose with Madoka, but Sakurako refused.

"Let's go find her and see what she thinks! God, she's sooo lucky, I'm sooo jealous!" Misa oozed, the two scooping up their bike and climbing on. With a defeated sigh, Sakurako hopped on, too.

-

It was about four in the afternoon when Ku Fei was tackled from behind, her afternoon training brought to a screeching halt. Her and her three assailants bounced off of the ground, rolling to a slow stop.

"Ku-chan, you're sooo lucky!" Misa shouted, grabbing Ku Fei's face and pinching her cheeks.

"Uht oo 'ean?" The blonde struggled to get the words out her mouth.

"Negi-kun said that Connor-sensei is totally in love with you! I'm dead serious!" Madoka said, then quickly added when the blonde gave her a quizzical look.

"Uht 'e say?"

Misa let go of Ku Fei's face, but was still about six inches away from her when she replied, "He ignored it, then said something to Negi-kun in English! What else could that possibly mean?"

"Ooh, why did he pick you! Crap, you're so lucky!" Sakurako fumed, crossing her arms and looking away moodily.

"I not think he mean it..." Ku Fei muttered, turning around to hide her hopeful blush, "He already say he not looking for girlfriend..."

"So you've asked him!" Misa asked loudly, grabbing Ku Fei's shoulders and spinning her full around to look her in the eye, "Oh my God, you're blushing! You totally have a crush on the new teacher, don't you!"

"Just an FYI, but you do too," Madoka pointed out.

"We've gotta hook you two up! Don't you think they'd be just the cutest couple ever?"

"Didn't you say something about Konoka and Negi-kun making a really cute couple...? All of that just turned out to be a misunderstanding," Madoka said, more to herself than her violet-haired friend.

"Aw, the problem with back then was that we told the class rep! This time, we'll be playing under the radar!" Misa threw a fist into the air, "Mission get Ku-chan and the hot new teacher together begins now!" She yelled, much to the embarrassment of Ku Fei, who pulled her arm down and slapped a hand over the girl's mouth.

"What you trying do? It not whole world's business!"

"Oh...alright, I'm in, too!" Sakurako shouted, her glum attitude dissolved in the presence of a coupling mission. The three cheerleaders successfully pulled off their little cheer pose, drawing a blank stare from Ku Fei.

"Why you do that? No one seeing it."

"Sorry, force of habit," Sakurako laughed, grabbing hold of the Chinese girl's arm. Misa took the other arm, and the three cheerleaders ran off with their new project.

-

"Great. It's already 8:30. Thanks for pissing away my day off, kid," Connor moaned, slamming the door to the millionth shrine they'd visited that day.

"Ha, ha...sorry about that," Negi replied, a little abashed. Even though it was the headmaster's orders, he probably would have asked his aid along anyway. He felt safer around him, though he also felt like a nuisance while around him.

"Whatever, it's not like I had anything better to do...I guess."

"At least you got to see some of the city, right?"

"Seeing some of the campus would have been more helpful. That's a good point, though. Way to see the brighter side of things, kid."

The two began the walk back towards the Mahora campus in silence. Neither had come across anything that had any relation to the bronze key, though they had to be discreet about it, so they may have even passed up the actual shrine over the course of the day. On the whole, they had accomplished practically nothing.

Connor began to hum a tune as the two strode along. Negi recognized it, but it took him a few seconds to place it. He sang the words as they came up, "She keeps her Moet et Chandon...in a pretty cabinet..."

"Uh-uh, you like Queen?" Connor turned a smile down at the boy, who laughed a little.

"The only people who don't like Queen are the people who've never heard them!"

Connor laughed, and continued the song, "'Let them eat cake' she says, just like Marie Antoinette. A built in remedy for Kruschev and Kennedy, at anytime an invitation you can't decline..."

"Caviar and cigarettes, well versed in etiquette, extraordinarily nice..."

"She's a killer...queeeen, gunpowder gelatine, dynamite with a laser-beam, guaranteed to blow your mind...anytime!" The two sang out loud, both grinning as they did, "Recommended at the price, insatiable an appetite...wanna tryyy?"

The two both stopped walking to play the guitar, Connor messing up when he realized this. They both moved to do the same thing, strumming the imaginary guitar the same way. He laughed, picking the song back up, "To avoid complications, she never kept the same address. In conversation, she spoke just like a baroness...Met a man from China, went down to Geisha Minah..."

Negi picked up the background vocals right on time, "Killer, killer, she's a killer queen..."

"But then again incidentally if you're that way incliiined..."

"Perfume came naturally from Paris, for cars she couldn't care less, fastidious and precise!"

The two paused to laugh, each seeing the other in a new light. Connor wasn't such a tough guy all the time, and Negi had a side to him that wasn't all business. Their singing went up into the night, drawing several confused looks as they went, "She's a killer...queeen!"

-

Connor walked slowly through the night, his boots striking the ground the only noise that broke the dead quiet. Kaede had sent him away when he arrived back at the dorm room, saying something about the headmaster wanting to meet him by the World Tree. She seemed pretty serious about it, too. So, hands in his pockets, the nineteen-year-old made his way for the tree in the darkness.

A light breeze picked up, tugging the teen's black coat along as it eased by, his bandanna straining against his forehead as it tried to follow the wind away. "Wow..." Sakurako whispered from her hiding place in the nearby bushes, "I never thought that walking could look so good."

"I don't get what he sees in Ku Fei!" Misa replied, jealousy bubbling in her stomach, "He could get anyone he wanted!"

"Hey, hey, don't turn on her now!" Madoka whispered back, "She's no good when it comes to this kind of thing!"

"Or studying," Misa pointed out.

"She can eat, though!" Sakurako grinned.

"Look, look! He sees her! Whoa, do you think she can handle this kind of pressure? I'm just watching and I'm getting goose bumps..." Misa snickered to herself, eager to see how her classmate handled the situation.

"Sh! We won't hear if you keep talking!"

-

"Hey, ma'am..." Connor called out to the lady he was approaching, "What are you doing out here so late? Dressed to kill, too," He admitted, looking the tanned girl over. She was wearing a gold and yellow kimono, somethign Connor had yet to see. Her shoulder length blonde hair shone faintly in the bright moonlight, her face illuminated in a soft glow which Connor found himself staring at. He quickly diverted his gaze, looking up at the World Tree which loomed overhead. "I didn't think Japanese people did the kimono thing, anymore."

"I already tell you, I not Japanese!" The lady exclaimed, folding her arms.

"Wh-What?" Connor looked into the girl's dark hazel eyes, seeing something in them that he recognized, "Sunshine? Is that you?"

"Who you think I am?"

"You shouldn't be out so late," He quickly changed the subject, "Especially not by yourself. It's dangerous, with everything that's been happening."

"You no worry about me," Ku Fei grinned, "I be ready next time."

"But I do worry. You wanna stress me out? Is that it? Tell me you'll stop being so careless, Sunshine. As nice as saving you sounds, there's always a chance that I won't be around."

Ku Fei looked down at her feet, mumbling something.

"Come on, promise me," Connor got, now, that the headmaster wasn't around. Kaede had set him up to meet with Ku Fei out by the giant tree. What a sly girl...she had seemed so serious about him coming to the meeting spot, too.

"You will be around, though, right?"

-

"Ooh, God! I can barely make out what they're saying!" Sakurako hissed, her hand beside her ear in an effort to get a clear signal of their voices.

"Crap! I forgot!" Misa exclaimed, moving to stand.

"Forgot what?" Madoka groaned, her face flushed as she eavesdropped.

"I'm supposed to meet someone..."

"Your boyfriend? But it's already 10:00! You're gonna get busted..."

"Oh, relax. Anyway, looks like we'll have to cut this viewing short," Misa grabbed her two friends and began to drag them away. The two girls protested, but neither could break free from their friend's iron grip. "Hey, if I can't watch, neither can you two!"

-

"Heh, no promises, Sunshine," Connor admitted quietly. There was no way to guarantee he'd be around very long. Anything could happen, and he could be gone in the blink of an eye.

"A promise for a promise! You stay around, I be more careful," Ku Fei took an unsteady step forward, her face flaring up.

"I know you're a little afraid..." Connor grinned when Ku Fei shook her head 'no', "But you shouldn't think about me as anything more than a teacher. Even considering me a friend is pushing it. I can't be there for you, I can't protect you...and I can't comfort you."

Ku Fei rushed forward the final steps up to Connor, and threw her arms around him. The two stood there, frozen for what felt like forever. The girl shivered when her teacher's arms wrapped around her, holding her tight. The World Tree's branches moaned as the soothing wind played through the air, kicking up leaves and drowning out the sound of the breathing between the two people beneath. Placing one hand on top of his student's head, Connor whispered, "I promise..."

Ku Fei exhaled sharply, smiling and laughing a little, "I promise, too."

A mutual quiet fell over the the two, both lost in each other's presence. The teacher was upset with himself for allowing a student to make him feel obligated to stay. But was it obligation? A promise was just words, after all. He'd lied before. Hell, who hadn't? Maybe he said he'd stay because that's what he wanted. Ku Fei was feeling dizzy and nervous, but it was an amazing feeling combined that she wouldn't have given up for anything. Hugs were one thing, but this was something so much better.

With her face buried in his chest, she tried to speak, "I..."

"Don't say it, Sunshine," Connor backed up a step, looking down into her eyes, which were shimmering with tears. "You're only fourteen, right? What could you possibly know about lo..." Connor broke off, his body tensing up as his vision blurred.

Ku Fei felt a jolt jump through her teacher's arms a split second before he fell to his knees, his face blank. "Wh-What wrong?" She stammered, looking around in confusion.

Connor tried to turn, to find out what had hit him, but he couldn't. He felt his strength wane, his sight faded out, his thoughts became quieter. He fell face first, not surprised to find himself quickly immersed in a pool of his own blood. He heard Ku Fei scream a split second before she knelt down beside him, quickly rolling him onto his back.

"You ok? Connor! Say something!" Ku Fei urged him to give her some kind of sign that he was alright, but he couldn't. His chest felt like it had a cement block on it, his breathing was becoming raspy and quick. She watched as the life in his eyes started to drift away, the light of life fading out.

"Somebody help!"

-

"'Cause I'm a killer...queeen..." A woman hummed to herself, snickering at the irony of the two teacher's choice of song earlier in the day. After waiting all day, she had finally found the opportunity she had been looking for. As the woman finished packing her rifle, she flipped open a cell phone, punching in a quick number. A few seconds later, she completed her job, "He's dead. Next time you try and catch the girl everything should go as planned...yes, I know...Really? I don't think I can do that...No, it's not the money, I just don't know if I can kill the boy, too...That much? I'll have to think about it. I'll be in touch," The woman flicked her phone off, wondering what her next move would be.

-

Negi entered his dorm room, singing happily in English. He trailed off as he drew two confused looks from Konoka and Chachamaru, and an angry 'you-just-woke-me-up' look from Asuna. "S-Sorry Asuna-san, I'm just really happy," Negi admitted with an apologetic smile.

"What about? It's gotta be pretty good for you to be singing in English!" Konoka laughed, "It was kind of weird. I don't think I've ever heard you use English outside of class."

"Who would understand me if I did?" Negi asked with a smile as he hurried up to the loft, where Chachamaru was waiting. Her blank face and rigid posture hid it well, but she had been waiting for him to get back for the past two hours. Negi began to rummage through his drawers, looking for something.

"What are you doing?" Asuna asked, her groggy face peeking up to the loft.

"Just looking for...here it is!" Negi exclaimed triumphantly, raising a cd up into the air, "Queen! Yes!"

"Connor-sensei? Oh, that's right," Konoka mumbled, "You and him were off together all day, right? Is that what you're so happy about?"

"Oh, the day went awful! But near the end we started singing, and then he took me out for dinner, and we had a great time! He's actually a really nice guy."

Asuna grumbled something about getting hit on the head with a water balloon. _'Well, it's good for him to have another guy around,' _She thought with a little smile, _'With all of these girls around him all of the time, Connor-sensei is almost like a godsend for him. If he shapes up a little bit, maybe he'd be a good role model for him, too. I guess time will tell...'_

Unknown to the four, Connor was lying in a pool of blood, Ku Fei beside him, calling out for anyone to help. The only answer she received was the wind, which whistled through the World Tree's branches above.

_-----Author's other note: The song Connor and Negi were singing is Queen's Killer Queen, a fantastic song by a British group (British, like Negi), which is why I chose it. And...I know, I suck. Bet nobody saw the chapter ending like that, did they? What will Ku Fei do? What will Negi do? Who pulled the trigger? Reviews encourage me to write...it's true. Thanks. (By the way, I now have 2, count 'em, 2 reviews! That made my day. Aside from the other stuff that made my day...well, thanks!)-----_


	6. Real Emotions, Fake Cause

_-----Author's note: Well, here's hoping last chapter's cliffhanger didn't make people mad and chase away any readers...ha, ha...I don't own Negima, but any other characters and ideas are my own. This is simply my shot at fan fiction, inspired by a love for the characters and a will to shell out a plot for them. Enjoy!-----_

Negi was greeted with a forced smile as Shizuna caught him outside of his classroom. The boy, in a good mood, didn't catch the glint of depression in her eyes.

"Good morning Shizuna-sensei," Negi spoke cheerfully, dipping into a deep bow, "How are you today?"

"I'm alright, Negi-kun, thank you. I'm actually here to tell you that Connor won't be joining you for class today. He's got something he's taking care of, at the moment," She lied through a smile.

"For...for the voice?" Negi leaned in to whisper.

"I believe it is related to that, yes."

"He didn't mention anything about it yesterday..."

"It only just happened last...he was just asked last night," Shizuna faltered, "Also, you are to fill in for him as 3-A's PE instructor, for now. That's all..." The woman quickly turned to leave, hurrying down the hallway.

"W-Wait! When will he be getting back?"

"Sorry, I don't know!" Shizuna called over her shoulder before disappearing around the corner.

"Aw, I really wanted to show this to him..." Negi muttered, glancing at the cd sticking out of his bag. "Oh well, we've got a test today, so I need to focus on that, anyway."

Negi slid the door open, his students rising to meet him as he approached his desk. The bid him good morning, chairs scraping as they all sat back down. Negi laid his bag down on the desk, pulling out the thick stack of papers that comprised the day's test, "I hope you all are ready! The period today is set for the test, so when you finish just turn it in and you can go," The teacher made his way through the rows of classes, handing out the test as he went. He hit seat 12, missing a beat. He looked around the room for his missing student, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Where's Ku Fei? Does anybody know?"

"She didn't show up this morning," Chao Lingshen stated with a shrug.

"Sister Kaede isn't here either," The Narutaki twins called out in unison.

"They probably cut class so they could study more and just take it late. Negi-kun, you're too nice!" Yuna Akashi said with a laugh.

"But Mana and Sakurako aren't here, either!" Fumika pointed out, looking to Negi for some kind of an answer.

"W-Well...that test isn't THAT hard," He sighed, moving on. He was wondering if something had happened, this many students hadn't ever missed class at one time. Ku Fei had the dream, making her a target for the enemy. Could Kaede and Mana have been injured protecting her, maybe? But what about Sakurako? The peppy cheerleader didn't have the aura, so there was no real reason to worry about her, was there? But-

The classroom door opened with a bang, shattering the young teacher's train of thought. He whipped around to find Connor stroll into the classroom, dressed for class, and even without his bandanna. Several pleased sighs came from the class.

"Sorry I'm late, Negi-kun," The teen apologized with a grin, snatching some of the papers from the boy's hands, proceeding to hand them out.

"Wh-What did you call me? Are you feeling alright...?"

With a good humored laugh, Connor nodded, "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"N-No reason...um, didn't you have something you were going to be doing today?"

"Nothing that I couldn't handle before class. Come on, these pretty ladies aren't gonna wait forever..." Connor quickly finished handing out the papers while Negi watched in confusion. His aid was helping? He called him Negi-kun? Whatever the headmaster had him do must have been pretty significant for this kind of turnaround.

-

Setsuna Sakurazaki shivered, a cold chill rushing up and down her spine as she made for the front of the class. Negi had left about half an hour ago to find out where Ku Fei and the others had gotten off to, no doubt worried about the possibility of them being harmed. She, herself, was still trying to swallow all of what she'd been told. Some kind of dream issued targeting system? That meant that anyone and everyone was in danger, and she was feeling pressure to protect more than just one person for the first time in a long time.

The guardian set her completed test sheet down on the desk in front of Connor, who flashed her a smile, "Confident about the results?"

With a blank look, Setsuna replied, "Confident enough, Connor-sensei." She expected him to say something about her calling him sensei, but was surprised to find he ignored it.

"That's good, then. I'll see you in PE."

Setsuna exited the classroom, but was hesitant to go much further. Konoka was still taking the test, and being too far away from her would be a mistake. Sure, she hadn't had the dream, but there were always other things that could pose a threat to her. The trip to Kyoto had been enough of a reminder that Konoka wouldn't be safe if left alone. Asuna was in there, but was she enough? Unwilling to take the risk, she decided to wait outside the classroom for her two friends to finish. A second chill ran through her, shaking her core with an icy grip.

-

"They're alright, then?" Negi asked Shizuna, who nodded.

"Questioning Ku Fei about her encounter with the men in masks has been long overdue, and Kaede insisted on coming along as protection. Sakurako...may or may not know about what's going on, so we're checking up on her, as well. And Mana? Well, I wouldn't worry about her. She probably just had some business to take care of."

Hearing Shizuna explain things made Negi feel better. Something about an adult's composure helped to set his mind to rest, made him feel like even though things were bumpy, they'd eventually smooth out.

With a heavy sigh of relief, Negi broke out into a smile, "And Connor's back already! Whatever the headmaster wanted him to..." He trailed off when he saw the confused look on Shizuna's face, "Yeah, he came back this morning...What's wrong?"

"You...are you sure?"

"He was acting a little off, but yeah, he's already back."

"Negi! Bring him to me right now!" Shizuna took out her cell, punching in the headmaster's office, "Now!" She pointed out the door for Negi to hurry.

The boy took off down the hall, flustered and confused. A shot of wind magic helped him dash through the halls, skirts kicking up as he went, though this went unnoticed by the boy. Gauging Shizuna's uncharacteristically urgent attitude, he could tell something was wrong with Connor. Had he been targeted? No, that couldn't be it. He would have seen the aura, and why would that make Shizuna need to see him? He skid on all fours to slow down enough to maneuver the halls and make the corner. Did he...do something wrong? Shizuna had been acting strange at his mention since before class, maybe...it was ridiculous for him to think Connor had done something to the students that had missed class, right?

The boy nearly ran over Asuna, Konoka, and Setsuna as he barreled through the halls.

"Hey!" Asuna called out, bringing Negi to a grinding stop. "Where are you going in such a hurry? Come on, we're going..." She trailed off when she caught the panic in his eyes, "What's wrong?"

"Is Connor still in the classroom?" He asked, wiping his brow with his sleeve.

"Sorry Negi-kun, Connor-sensei took Asakura out for lunch. He said something about starting off on the wrong foot, or something like that," Konoka explained.

"He-He took Asakura-san out? Out where?"

"He didn't say. They're heading out to the trains, though. If you hurry you might be able to catch them," Asuna stated.

Setsuna followed after Negi, who had rushed off as soon as Asuna had finished talking. "I'll catch up to you two later! I need to talk to Negi-sensei about something," She called over her shoulder.

"W-Wait!" Konoka called out, but was ignored. With a pout, she began to follow after the two.

"Konoka, we have plans! They'll be ok," Asuna stated, though she found herself following her roommate.

"Set-chan is a part of those plans, though. We'll just have to wait for her to finish up with negi-kun before we go. Come on!"

-

"Why..." Asakura asked timidly, her usually mischievous eyes abnormally somber and depressed, "Why the sudden interest in making a good impression with me?"

Connor laughed, putting an arm around Asakura. He felt her tense up at his touch, but she didn't object or pull away, either. "You're one of Negi-kun's friends, and you're one of my students, too. I know it must be tough for you to be one of the targets, and I should be doing everything I can to make you feel better. Or, at the very least, Asakura-chan, to make you feel safe."

The seriousness in his tone sent tingly sparks down her back and through her legs to the tips of her toes. He wanted to protect her? His arm around her shoulders felt warm, it felt nice. She'd been on pins and needles ever since eavesdropping on Negi and his conversation with Shizuna and the headmaster which revealed the danger that faced them all. She was one of the first to be targeted, and she didn't even know why. Confusion heaped on top of a healthy dose of fear had left the paparazzi girl sleepless since finding out. The dream itself, now that she knew the danger it actually posed, was enough to keep her from sleeping. But the fact that while she slept she might be attacked by men in theater masks was really stretching her emotions out too far.

She slowed down the pace they were walking at, letting her head find its place against her teacher's side, allowing her eyes to ease shut as they walked. It was alright to be weak sometimes, to need someone...wasn't it? All she knew was that right now, his warmth against her was enough to hold back the fear which shrouded her, even if only for this moment, if only for right now. "I'm tired of being afraid," She whispered so quietly that Connor almost didn't hear her.

"You don't need to be afraid when you're with me. You can believe that, and you can believe in me. I'd never let anything happen to you, Asakura-chan."

She had been expecting him to call her 'Blaze', or 'Photo-girl', but hearing him say her name hit her like a ton of bricks. She felt herself wince a little as he came to a stop, removing his arm from her. She opened her eyes, and was surprised to find a tear slide down her cheek.

Connor, with a sad smile, wiped the tear away, putting his hand below her chin and tipping her face up to meet his own, "I'll protect you from the darkness. I swear."

Asakura couldn't understand how she had ever gotten a bad impression of the man standing before her. Strong, caring, sympathetic...handsome...God, was she falling for him? Her teacher? The class-rep and Nodoka going head-over-heels for Negi was odd enough, but she was falling for a teacher, herself?

"Come on, we'd better get on," Connor mumbled, taking her by the hand. If her realization that she had developed a hefty crush on her teacher wasn't enough to immobilize her, hand holding definitely was. It took her a second to realize that they were standing before the train, and that the doors were open in anticipation for them to get on. Once the feeling returned to her legs, which was mostly through force of will, she stumbled onto the train after Connor.

-

"Setsuna-san! I'm glad you're coming!" Negi yelled over his shoulder as the two made a mad dash for the trains. They were both moving so fast that the people around them couldn't recognize them, and several began to murmur about the supposed ghost which haunted the school.

"Negi-sensei," Setsuna managed to fall into stride with Negi, glancing down at her frenzied teacher, "What's going on? Right now, what's happening?"

"I'm not sure," He admitted, pausing to leap over a group of people as they conversed. Once he landed, he continued, "Apparently, Connor had something to do for the headmaster last night. He got back a lot sooner than anyone expected, and Shizuna needs to see him right away! There's something wrong, but I don't know what!"

Setsuna recalled the vicious chills she had caught earlier, "Something IS wrong. Connor-sensei isn't acting like himself," The two were quiet for what felt like forever, but probably didn't span more than two minutes, before she broke the silence, "I think Shizuna-sensei is lying to you."

Negi came to a screeching halt, the soles of his shoes wearing away and heating up. Setsuna came to a slower stop, about ten feet ahead of her teacher. "Don't say that! She wouldn't lie to me, especially about something as important as Connor. She tells me everything I need to know, and she would never mislead me!"

"She may tell you everything you need to know, but maybe she doesn't think you need to know everything. There's a fine line, and one that I think people are dancing across left and right. Where did she tell you Ku Fei went? What about Kaede? She wouldn't tell you much about Connor, would she?" Setsuna asked calmly, her face blank as she scanned her upset instructor's face, "She's lying to protect you from something she thinks would hurt you."

"No, she..."

"There's something horrible about today, I felt it earlier and I know you can feel it, too."

"I don't feel..."

"He suddenly picks up the honorific system perfectly, he was polite to everyone, he helped in class, and he just took the first target out to lunch."

"Don't..."

"Negi-sensei, that man isn't Connor!"

"Don't say that!" Negi shouted, continued the rush for the trains. He blew by Setsuna, who watched him without moving. No matter how strong he was, no matter how mature he tried to be, no matter how reliable he was, nothing could change the fact that he was a ten-year-old kid. Seeing him in a desperate panic like that reminded her of this. With a discontent sigh, she chased after her teacher.

"If that's not him then who is it?" Negi yelled to no one, _'If...If that's not him then...where's the real Connor?'_ He wanted to believe that Setsuna was wrong, but she sounded so right. Was Shizuna trying to shield him from some truth that he couldn't bear?

"_It only just happened last...he was just asked last night,"_

She had said that, but he hadn't thought anything of it. Maybe something had happened...was he alright? He felt so stupid, now. Connor would have told him if he had some kind of mission lined up. He would have at least given him a call to let him know, wouldn't he? Whoever was with Asakura would know, he would...

"Asakura-san!" Negi shouted, trying to get the attention of his student as she looked up into the eyes of the man before her. The two entered the train, neither seeming to hear him. "Asakura-san! Wait!"

The train began to pull away, quickly gaining speed as it went. Without even bothering to look around, Negi swung up onto his staff and took off after the train. He couldn't let anything happen to her. He had promised her right from the start that he would protect her, that he would protect all of his students. There was no way he was going to fail. No way in hell he was going to fail!

-

Setsuna rushed to catch the train before it gained too much momentum. All she needed to do was catch up to it, that was all. She was only ten feet behind, maybe another ten feet off to the side. Sword in hand, the guardian was pumping hard, pushing herself to catch up. If Negi, who was now flying above the train, confronted the man alone, there was no guaranteeing his safety, or Asakura's safety.

Konoka called out to her, followed shortly after by a call from Asuna.

This broke her concentration, slowing her down and allowing the train to gain ground. Had they caught up while she and Negi had stopped to talk? That was the only way, at the pace they had been moving at. With one last glance over her shoulder at the person she was duty bound to protect, Setsuna leapt into the air.

Her sword swung out of its sheath as the girl flew through the air. Pulling the blade behind her head as she overtook the train, Setsuna plunged the steel deep into the side of the train, holding on for dear life as the train hit top speed. She swung up onto the top of the train, jerking her blade free as she did so. Kneeling down to keep from flying off of the massive transport, she cast a quick look over her shoulder at Konoka, watching the girl fade away as she sped along. Even her voice inspired her to do more, to be better, stronger. Would she have been able to catch up to the train on her own? She'd never have to worry about that. She'd never be alone as long as she remembered who was important.

-

Asakura was sitting beside her teacher, who once again had his arm around her. She could tell from the first time she had set eyes on him, that he could be a charmer if he tried. It didn't even seem like he was trying, now, though. It just came naturally. So naturally she began to wonder if he simply acted like the tough-guy he seemed to pride himself on being for the sake of his own image. The first time she ever set eyes on him...that was when he saved Negi and her from becoming quick victims of the aura targeting system. Had she felt like this then, too?

The train was empty, save for the two. This didn't surprise Asakura. Most students were still in class, after all. She had only gotten out early because she had breezed through the test. Not being able to sleep had helped her studying time increase by...well, a lot. She was grateful for that, though. It had allowed her to have this time with him, a time she didn't want to end. She didn't even care that he was her teacher at this point. What did that matter? If anyone who frowned on such relationships could feel as safe and content as she did right then, they would not only understand, but encourage her to be as close to him as possible. She felt a little jealous of Ku Fei, Kaede, and Mana. They got to see him a lot more than she did. It seemed unfair.

Connor put his free hand on Asakura's head, flashing her a smile as he brushed her hair back, "Don't worry, today's gonna be a good day."

_-----Author's other note: Well...how was that for a chapter? In the author's note at the beginning I said something about the cliffhanger hopefully not chasing anyone away, but it actually picked up two reviews, which doubled my tally, pulling it up to four! So unless I get a lot of people telling me to quit being an ass and stop with cliffhangers, they're probably going to be a lot more prominent. Like this one, for example. Will Negi and Setsuna be able to save Asakura from the imposter instructor? Asakura's fallen for Connor? Will Negi find out what really happened to Connor, and if he does, how will he handle it? Where exactly are the four missing students? What the hell's my problem, why didn't I go straight to the World Tree to pick up where last chapter left off? Will any of these questions be answered in the next chapter? Depends on what people say in the reviews, I guess. I'm hoping for at least two more...I mean, seriously, that's reasonable, right? I see these other stories up here with, like, 50+ reviews, and I'm like, holy crap! How do I get that kind of play? And some of them are a lot shorter than mine! Some people do the 'I want this many reviews before I update' thing, but that's not cool, so I won't do that. Now that I've written the longest author's note I've ever written, I think I'll stop. Thanks for reading...-----_


	7. One On One

_-----Author's note: First off, I do not own Negima! Or any of its characters, but any other characters and ideas are my own. Second, I'm well pleased to say that for the first time ever, I have more reviews than chapters! Awesome? Yes, yes I think it is. Third, please enjoy the chapter...-----_

Connor watched her sleeping, slumped against him as she had finally found some kind of peace in her mind. Asakura was breathing quietly, her mind so shot from exhaustion that she may have very well been unable to have dreams, and would have been safe from the voice in that sense. She had drifted off to blissful darkness, however, knowing she'd be alright beside her teacher. Even if some minuscule part of her mind warned her to stay awake, that maybe she was in danger, even if she died here and now, would there be a better way to go than beside the person you...well, that was probably the lack of sleep talking.

He watched her in silence as the train sped along, bringing them where its tracks led, where the others were waiting. He wished she'd stay asleep for the whole thing, so he wouldn't have to see the look of pain in her eyes. He didn't want to see her, with her thinking he had betrayed her. He leaned over a little, giving her a soft kiss on the forehead.

God...keeping Connor's form for so long had started to imprint some his actual emotions into his mind. Damn, he didn't have a thing for the girl, did he? He'd heard that Connor had been a headache for her, but the confused thoughts in his head said that he actually cared about her. He hardly knew her!

'_What a pedophile. At least wait for them to hit eighteen, damn,' _The imposter thought, trying to ignore Connor's emotions.

A thump brought Connor out of his enthrallment with Asakura, drawing his attention up to the roof above. It sounded like something had fallen onto the train. Or maybe like something had...landed? Had he already been found out? Well, that was fine. When the train hit the next stop, give or take ten minutes, it would be too late for anyone to do anything.

The emergency escape hatch in the roof flipped open, a young boy dropping down into the train. Negi pointed his staff at Connor, who grinned in return.

"Who are you?" The boy asked, his eyes moving from the sleeping Asakura to the familiar stranger.

"What are you talking about, Negi-kun? Is there something wrong?"

"Cut it out! I know you're not Connor. He wouldn't call me Negi-kun, and he definitely wouldn't take Asakura-san out on a date!"

"A date? That's so forward..." Connor stopped smiling when he realized there was no way to convince Negi that he was who he said he was, so he raised a hand to the girl's face, instead, "Well, Negi, looks like you've found me out. The honorifics thing, is that really what gave me away? He just outright refuses to use them? I'll do a little more studying, next time."

Negi, apprehensive because the man's palm was opened in front of Asakura's face, inched forward as he spoke, "Who are you, really? What do you want with my students?"

"And you, too, don't forget. Hold on, stop there or I'll finish my mission another way," The man instructed, pointing to Negi with his free hand, "That's better. You want to know who I am? Seems kind of pointless, really. I mean, I could be practically anyone you wanted me to be. Connor is a good enough name, for me."

"Then...what are you? A mage? Nobody could pull off a disguise like that so well. There's not even a hint of magic on you, anywhere."

"My magic is a special kind of magic, bred on the fields of life and crafted in the hearts of all. I can tap into people, read them, understand them, become them. A gift from my master, a certain voice in a certain dream I believe you to be acquainted with."

"Who is she?" Negi asked, afraid to move any closer for fear of endangering Asakura.

"Wow, you already know that much? Unfortunately, you won't ever know more than that. You're a mark, and that makes you fair game for us. But hold on, hold on, let me get into character, really. Usually I don't go so far, especially with someone like this," The man motioned to himself, indicating Connor, "Because with him, I might get so full of myself I'll refuse to switch anymore. Wouldn't want that..."

"You mean...you actually 'become' the person?"

With a glance at Asakura, who was still asleep behind him, the man nodded a yes, "Everything I'm feeling right now is tainted with his actual feelings and emotions, which is why I kissed her..." The man's eyes rolled up into the back of his head, but quickly went back to their original state.

"Wh-What do you...kissed..."

"Ugh...kid, why you gotta play the idiot all the time? I thought you were some kind of child prodigy," Connor snickered, pushing Asakura off of him as he released a small pulse of magic into her.

"What'd you-"

"Relax, dipstick. She won't be waking up for a couple of hours now, that's all. Wouldn't want her to interrupt our..." Connor trailed off as he realized he was in his brown suit, which turned his face up into a frustrated scowl, "Dammit! Why the hell am I wearing this, again?" Mumbling to himself, he snapped his fingers, his black coat appearing over him, "That's better."

"Please, let me take Asakura-san back! If you're feeling what he feels, then you have to want to do the right thing!"

"The right thing? Don't get all preachy on me, kid," He dove to the ground as a blade slid through the window behind him. It would have gone straight through his head if he hadn't picked up on her presence, "After all, you were about to let me get stabbed in the head. I mean, damn. You're ten, that's kind of extreme."

Setsuna hopped down through the emergency exit, smirking at Connor, even though her attempt at a quick solution had wound up in failure.

"Setsuna Sakurazaki. People call me a womanizer, but damn!"

"What's that mean?" Negi asked Setsuna, who was sporting a deep blush.

"I-It means I've been misinterpreted for the millionth time!" She replied, raising her sword to meet the imposter.

Not having his own sword, Connor reached into his coat and pulled out a silver fountain pen.

Setsuna snickered, waiting to see if he had anything else.

"Hey, don't play it down, oh not-so-straight-and-narrow," Setsuna fumed at his second comment about her relationship with Konoka. Negi wasn't sure exactly what that meant, but he wondered if that was really something Connor had thought up. "Haven't you ever heard that the pen is mightier than the sword?"

"Haven't you ever heard 'shut the hell up'?" Setsuna, blinded by the taunts, rushed him.

-

Yue Ayase's eyes popped open as Haruna Saotome smacked her on the head with a rather thick manga. They, along with Nodoka Miyazaki, had finished the test recklessly fast, and had gone back to their dorm room to kill off the time until their next class started, about forty-five minutes. Yue had fallen asleep, much to the annoyance of the gossip.

"Yue, what's wrong with you? This is serious plan making time for Nodoka! She can't...won't, do it by herself, and Negi isn't gonna be free forever!"

"Only about three more years before he'll even care, whatever will we do?" Yue moaned as she sat upright, "Why did you hit me on the head to get me up? A light tap on the shoulder would have done it."

"You were muttering something about something. Sounded like a nightmare. I got you up the quickest way I could think of."

Nodoka, who had been watching the two the entire time, finally spoke up, "I-It's ok, Haruna. Really...I told him, and that's enough, so..." She trailed off, her face as red as her uniform. In her embarrassed fluster at the remembrance of her telling Negi that she loved him, back in Kyoto, she didn't see Haruna take to the air, a kick thrust at her face.

Yue watched as Nodoka was sent sprawling onto her bed after being nailed with the kick. She couldn't help but wonder how whenever Haruna managed to pulverize her, she always seemed to be alright. Maybe the manga artist knew some kind of way to pull her attacks at the last second without losing its ability to send people flying. Was that possible? Didn't sound like it.

Finger pointed heatedly at her friend, Haruna exclaimed, "No! That can't be enough! How long do you think the rep's gonna wait before she drops some kind of love-atom-bomb, and totally steals him from you?"

"She never really 'had' him," Yue muttered, raising a finger.

"I'll tell you how long: Not long, that's how long!" Haruna ignored her glum friend. In a flurry of motions that was near impossible for either to follow, Haruna had busted out her sketchbook and drawn a very realistic picture of Negi proposing to Ayaka, both looking very much in love, "Huh? What, you like that? This is what's gonna happen if we don't make a move!"

Nodoka, upon seeing the incredible likeness of her teacher proposing to who could very well be her #1 rival for his affection, flushed and began to babble about how that would never happen. She didn't sound all that confident about it, though.

"Or what about this? 'Cause you know it's coming!" Haruna, in true manga artist fashion, busted out a second picture in record time. The contents of said picture, for rating purposes and because it caused Nodoka to black out, will not be disclosed. Suffice to say, in the top right corner of the picture, the title was displayed: 'Let's Do Something H!' "You know she would!" Haruna muttered, lifting Nodoka up onto her bed.

"That was kind of over-the-top," Yue mumbled, trying not to look at the picture that lay on the table before her. There was no way Ayaka would do that...how could she even get in that shape? "I think you've sunken to a new kind of perverted low..."

"She needed to see it. When she wakes back up, we'll have her full attention. Then we'll..."

"Go to our next class? She probably won't be getting up until then. I mean..." She caught herself glancing at the picture, quickly looking away, "I can understand how that one knocked her out."

Haruna was about to say something in return, but paused to sniff the air. Her eyes darted over to Yue, who looked at her like she was insane. "I smell the love-reek!"

"I do not reek!" Yue defended herself, pointing at her nosy friend, "That's just Nodoka, who overdosed on your shotacon picture!"

"Yeah, I guess you're right. If you were in love I would have found out before now...besides, you're not the type to fall for a kid," Haruna laughed, sitting at her desk to draw up some more 'motivation' for Nodoka.

Yue stood up and entered the bathroom, grabbing a fistful of toilet paper, which she used to wipe away the little bit of blood that was coming from her nose. _'It's just from Haruna smacking me on the head with a book, that's all. Nothing to do with that smutty picture. Not a thing. She's right, I'm not the type to fall for a kid. Even if he's...different from other kids, he's still just a kid. Not to mention Nodoka's already admitted to him how she feels, so I could never...No! It's the book, the book!' _Yue banged her head into the wall, trying to knock loose whatever in her head was making her think that maybe Negi meant something more to her than a friend...

"You ok in there?" Haruna's voice cut into her thoughts.

"I'm fine!" She called back, rubbing her sore forehead. _'I'm going to finish my nap, go to my next class, and help Nodoka get closer to Negi. That's the right thing to do, and it's what I...it's what I want to...ugh, that's what I'll do.' _Flushing the toilet paper away, Yue made to leave the bathroom. _'I hope I don't have that dream, again...' _She thought as she turned the doorknob.

-

Connor dipped under Setsuna's blade as it whistled towards him, a smirk on his face as he wove elegantly through her attacks, backing away to make up for the lack of space in the train. The two passed by Asakura, allowing Negi enough room to rush over and scoop her up. Thank God magic kept him in prime condition...

"Negi-sensei!" Setsuna shouted, not relenting against her snickering opponent, "Take Asakura-san and get her away from here! I'll take care of him!"

"But..." Negi knew Setsuna could handle herself, but could she handle the imposter? His 'magic' allowed him to become the person he wanted, to a degree. Did that mean he gained their abilities and strength, as well?

"Go!"

With a frustrated growl, Negi jumped up through the emergency exit.

"You sure that was a good idea, pet?" Connor asked through a laugh, jumping back the last ten feet to the door which led to the next car, "Sending away your only backup?"

"I don't need any help to stop someone who has to hide behind someone else's face. Not to mention, all you've got is a pen!" Setsuna pointed out.

"Hey, now! I told you not to belittle the pen, you curvy little punk. I..."

"What? 'Curvy little punk'?" Setsuna interrupted, "I expected something a little more...more, from Connor."

"What, you didn't get it? You know, I'm straight, Sunshine's straight, Negi's straight, you're...not."

Setsuna looked at him like he was a moron, but was grateful he was so easily distracted. Considering the imposter had taken on Connor's characteristics and image, she had thought he would be a little more on-the-ball. Maybe Connor was just stupid...

"Look, I'm not 'really' him, so my name calling might be a little off, alright? The point is," He cleared his throat, holding the pen up, "Being the bad-ass that I am, I require my things to be equally awesome. The pen's no exception."

"I don't think you're tough. I think you're just an immature, semi-pedophile, who thinks that the world revolves around himself."

"You mean it doesn't?"

Setsuna was infinitely glad to have said that to an imposter Connor. She never could have said that to the real deal, and now it was off her chest. Him hitting her on the head with a water balloon hadn't left the greatest impression. Now she'd never have to say those things out loud ever again. "If the world did revolve around you, it would only be because of your sun-like ego capturing it in its gravitational pull."

"Oh, that's it. It's about to go down. Right here," Connor grinned, closing the gap between them with a single lunge.

Setsuna moved to deflect the shiny pen as it came down over her, but her sword was forced down under the weight of the attack, the pen carving out a deep gash in her arm. She jumped away, a trail of blood following her through the air.

"What..."

"Magically reinforced titanium. It can take all the weight of my strength and then some. Got a nice ball-point tip, too," Connor pretended he was advertising the pen, moving one hand in a little circle beneath the bloody writing utensil as he spoke.

Without any warning, he leapt forward a second time, sliding across the metallic floor to attack her from below. She swung her sword down at him, but he rolled onto his side to avoid it. She took a quick second swipe, which Connor countered by pushing himself up onto his hands, swinging the sole of his foot up to meet the blade's edge.

A clang sounded as Setsuna froze, wondering why she hadn't just cut through his foot and leg. Connor, who was upside down in a handstand at this point, allowed himself to roll with the attack, using his other leg to sweep her from behind. She went to the ground with a thud, and was quickly stomped on as Connor cartwheeled back to his feet.

He hopped off with a laugh, "Steel-soled boots are the way to go, pet. I told you my things were bad-ass."

Setsuna jumped up, a little winded, but otherwise alright, "So what was that? Capoeira? Isn't that more for video games and television?"

"Landed you on your ass, didn't it?"

She dove at him, the two quickly engaged in a rush of movement. Connor was mostly dodging, but Setsuna could feel little cuts appearing on her as the fight dragged on. He was moving too quick for her to land a solid hit, or even to completely avoid his counters. She dropped low, sweeping her leg across the ground to knock him over. The teen put his hands on her shoulders, flipping over her to get out of the way. He threw a kick into her back, sending her to the ground for the second time.

Setsuna rolled forward, turning to face him again. Holding her sword out in front of her, she called out, "Raimeiken!"

Connor laughed, watching her charge at him, her sword about to burst with the electrical current pulsing through it. She swung it down at him, the entire car flooding with a blinding light. When her vision returned, she was staring into Connor's eyes, her sword a couple of inches from his face, held in place by the pen, which he had a solid grip on. She stumbled back as his knee shot up into her stomach, followed by an elbow to the chin. She teetered backwards, but refused to fall down. Connor swung his boot up into the side of her head, knocking her over into the chairs. He lowered his hand to her, a wave of black magic spilling over her. He was careful not to bust through the train, but he didn't cut her any more slack than that. After a couple of seconds, he let the attack fade off, pleased to find her borderline unconscious.

"You're looking a little out of breath, there. Wanna take a break?" Connor mumbled as he scooped her up by the throat, "Come on, I barely touched you. At least TRY!" He slung her through the train's side, glass showering the pavement below. She flipped, driving her sword deep into the ground to avoid a messy landing. She watched Connor dive through the busted window as she skid to a stop. He rolled forward, popping up like he had just gotten up from a nap.

He waited for the train behind him to rattle by before speaking to his kneeling opponent, "After all the talk, I'm pretty disappointed. All I've used so far is a pen. What would you do if I decided to use, like, a quarter, or something? Well, I'll just finish up, then. Negi and Asakura can't be too far off. With the aura I can track them down like that," He snapped his fingers before aiming an open palm at Setsuna, who glared at him.

Before another move could be made, a faint ringing caught her ears. With an aggravated look on his face, Connor took out a cell phone, "Hang on, I'll kill you in a sec," He mumbled, "What is it?"

Setsuna tried to move, but the black magic attack had left her with almost nothing. She had used the last of her strength to pull off her landing after being thrown from the train.

"I know I'm not there. How could I be here and there at the same time, you moron? Yeah...yeah...I know she's gonna be pissed, but what do you want me to do about it? I'm about to take care of the sword girl, that should be enough to make up, right? ...Really?" Connor looked over at Setsuna with a confused frown, "You're sure? ...She really doesn't want me too? ...No one can? That doesn't make any sen...Ok, I'm coming...Yeah, I'll be right there, relax," Connor ended the call, folding his arms and turning around.

"You lucked out, fool. I'm not supposed to kill you, at least for now. Keep getting in the way, though, and you might catch me in a rule-breaking mood..." He snapped his fingers, vanishing in a blast of smoke.

Setsuna tried to stand, tried to understand what had just happened. A timely phone call had saved her life? It was like something out of a fictional story, but she was glad for it. She was alive, and Negi and Asakura had gotten away. Everything turned out alright...

-

Shizuna looked from Asakura, who lay on the headmaster's sofa, to Negi, who stood before her with a stern look plastered over his usually pleasant face.

"I want to know the truth, Shizuna-sensei!" He exclaimed, "Where's Connor?"

_-----Author's other note: That was a tough chapter to get out...not too much of a Setsuna fan, myself. But I do like the library trio (I liked the part they had in here, specifically), so expect to see more from them coming up. Now that Negi knows something's wrong about Connor's 'absence' , I have no choice but to promise you guys that the next chapter will tell what happened to him and Ku Fei. There are a lot of ways I can go, too...if anybody's got a preference, let me know. By the way, Fullmetalfan, if your reviews are creepy, than it turns out I like creepy things. Thanks! Thanks to everyone who reads, too...-----_


	8. Bulletproof

_-----Author's note: I'm going to start off by saying: Sorry it took me...I don't know how long to update, a few days, I know. This is probably the longest it's taken me, to date. It's kind of bittersweet, I wanted to write, but I was glad to have things to do that took precedent over my anime...thing. I start school on September 6, but I'll do what I can to keep this afloat! After all, I'm not the kind of guy who would leave off at an edge of your seat cliffhanger, right? Ha, ha...right? Um...now that I've hinted at something really sucky...I don't own Negima, but any other characters and ideas are my own. Enjoy!-----_

Tick...tick...tick...tick...tick...

Sakurako sat in silence on a plastic chair, hands folded in her lap and eyes lowered to watch those hands. She'd been in this position for the better part of the last two hours, sitting beside a deathly quiet Kaede, who was beside an equally somber Ku Fei.

Tick...tick...tick...tick...tick...

Kaede's eyes wandered from one girl to the other. They were each like a bundle of quiet depression, wrapped up in a pretty package and set on either side of her to remind her of last night. Not that she needed a reminder. Not too often you see someone get shot. She couldn't help but cringe with every stupid tick that clock made. Did they have to sit them next to the only thing within God knows how far that made noise?

Tick...tick...tick...tick...smash!

Sakurako looked up at the now shattered clock. A kunai was stuck in the center of it, jammed through the face, and through the gears it concealed. Kaede made no sign that she had done anything, or even noticed a change at all.

With the clock finally silenced, Ku Fei could hear just how raspy her breathing was. She could feel a lump in her throat, like a chunk of ice. It sat there, refusing to budge, numbing her neck, but not so much that she couldn't feel the throbbing that not crying had brought on. She tried to hear what the other girl's breathing sounded like, but was unable to make any noise out other than her own. She kept remembering what had happened, still trying to grasp it. The night had passed by, the sun had come up, the next day had begun, but she was stuck in the past, lost in his dying eyes...

_Connor dropped to his knees, his face showing no emotion other than a little surprise. Ku Fei caught herself screaming as she saw the puddle of blood expanding from him. He fell into his own blood, apparently unable to stop himself. In a panic, Ku Fei dropped to the ground, rolling him over._

"_You ok? Connor! Say something!" She pleaded with him, down on her knees as she tried to keep him awake, keep him alive. _

Ku Fei glanced at the lower half of her kimono. Stained a red that would probably never come out. She had wanted to keep him alive, to save him, to have even been some kind of use. All she had done, though, was panic. She hadn't even done the basic 'apply pressure to stop the blood flow'. All she did was call for help...

'_If I hadn't dropped my phone, would things have wound up different?' _Sakurako wondered for what felt like the thousandth time. She had convinced Misa to let her go back to find her missing cell phone, only to find that her teacher had been shot. She ran over to help, but...

_Ku Fei's pleading eyes shot to the sound of the footsteps. She was hoping for anybody who could help her. More importantly, for anyone who could help him. It was Sakurako..._

"_What happened?" The cheerleader called out, screeching to a halt as she spotted the ever-expanding blood, "Wh-What..."_

"_I-I...he just fall down..." The blonde replied, "Get help!"_

_Sakurako reached for her phone, but came up with nothing. "I lost my phone!" She exclaimed, spinning around as her eyes scanned the ground in the hopes it was nearby._

'_It's a good thing curiosity got the best of me...' _Kaede thought as she waited for something to happen. They hadn't forgotten about them, had they? No, they were just busy with the problem she had brought them.

_Kaede fell from the World Tree, landing with as little noise as a shadow. Sakurako's surprised expression was enough of a warning for Ku Fei, who stood up and spun with a punch aimed at whoever was behind her. The ninja caught the punch, letting her friend withdraw her fist of her own will._

"_We need to hurry. He's not dead, yet," Kaede scooped Connor up, blood running all over her as she slung him over her shoulder._

Kaede reached up to her shoulder. The blood was dry, now. It had run down her back, she could still feel the warmth of it gradually fade to cold. She just couldn't stay away, she had to see how Ku Fei was doing with him. Was it her own fault that this had happened? It was at least partly her fault, she had, after all, told him to go there. But no matter how bad she felt, Ku Fei had to feel worse.

The three girls all turned as footsteps killed the quietness, breaking their somber thoughts. Were they about to find out if he was alright?

-

Negi, having left Asakura in the safety of the headmaster's presence, followed Shizuna in silence, though it was killing him inside. He was near full to bursting with questions, but didn't seem able to put them into words. Every time he opened his mouth, he quickly shut it. He knew Connor was alright. He had to be. He had already saved him once, and did so like it was nothing. There was no way anyone could hurt him, at least not seriously enough to warrant worrying.

He soon realized that Shizuna was leading him towards Library Island, a place he was fond of. Early on in his teaching career he had delved into the depths of the island with the baka rangers, and it was there where he solidified good relationships with them. Well, Asuna was different, but with the others he had.

"Why are we coming here?" He finally spoke, surprising himself a little.

"This is where he is. After the incident, he was brought here for emergency attention," Shizuna replied quietly.

"Incident? So...is he alright?" Negi decided not to ask what had happened, at least not yet.

"It's questionable, but I think he'll live. Come on, you can see him yourself in a few minutes."

The two entered the gargantuan library, Shizuna maneuvering through the labyrinthian bookshelf halls as though it was the inside of her apartment. Negi was soon in stretches of area he had never stepped foot into. After several minutes of turning corners and descending stairs, the young teacher could make out several figures off ahead of him. They turned to meet him.

"Negi-kun?" Sakurako called out as she hurried over to the boy, dropping to her knees and pulling him into a hug.

Before Negi could understand what was going on, Ku Fei had knocked him over in her own hug, both girls crying on him and talking at the same time.

"Negi-kun, it was awful!"

"Negi-bozu, is my fault! I sorry!"

"He-He was j-just bleeding ev-everywhere! I-Is he ok?"

"I sorry! I-I..."

"H-Hey! Stop, stop!" Negi sat himself up on his knees, placing a hand on both girl's shoulders, looking them both in the eyes, first Sakurako, then Ku Fei. Shizuna was behind Negi, waiting to see what he was going to do. This was one of those defining moments where he could be a ten-year-old boy, or a ten-year-old man. He could make them feel better, or he could come up empty.

Kaede watched the three on the ground, a little smile curling up on her lips as he pulled them back into the hug, one chin on both of his shoulders. Shizuna stepped by the crying girls, making her way over to Kaede.

"It's hard on them..." The ninja whispered to the approaching woman.

"He hasn't even been here a week, but he's already got some fans...come on, I'll take you to see him, first," Shizuna continued to walk, Kaede following after one last glance at the three on the ground.

"So what are we going to do about Sakurako? Do we tell her everything?" Kaede wondered aloud as the two wandered through the dark halls, stepping over books that littered the floor as they went. If the library trio ever made it to this place, they'd clean up. At any rate, it didn't appear Shizuna cared about the books at all.

"I'm not sure, the headmaster is going to have to make that call. We may be able to pass the event off as...a more...mundane oriented problem..." Shizuna chose her words carefully.

"Mundane? Wait...are you saying you want to pass it off as just a random shooting? Even Sakurako wouldn't believe that."

"Not so much random, as much as...a street target, of sorts..."

Kaede stopped walking, "You want to make it look like a gang shooting? No one would believe he's in the Yakuza!"

"Have you ever met him?" Shizuna stopped now, turning to face Kaede, "Sure he can be charming, but who can't turn on a little charm now and then? He wears a bandanna, a black coat, and he talks like he's God's gift to earth."

"The back of his coat says 'the way of God'. Do you really think someone with such a lofty comment on them will be taken for a member of organized crime?"

"There have been stranger things. The only real problem with this idea is that how could we possibly employ a member of the Yakuza as a teacher? We certainly can't circulate the rumors and keep him employed, and we can't afford to have him be separated from the campus. The number of targets will gradually rise, and we're going to need all of the help we can get," The two resumed walking.

"So telling her the truth and asking her to keep quiet is the best move, right?"

"We're talking about Sakurako. She's a nice girl, but can you really expect her to keep quiet? In the best case scenario, Misa and Madoka are the only ones to find out, but with the three of them knowing, how long until Negi's entire class does? It could turn into a campus wide problem," Shizuna snapped her fingers, "Like that."

"I think with something of this magnitude, especially if Negi and Connor ask her to, she can be trusted. You said yourself she was his 'fan'," Kaede pointed out.

The two wound a corner, several doors now visible. Bookshelves to the left, a wall to the right, books beneath two sets of feet, and a ceiling so far above them that they could barely make it out. Kaede took what she could see in, but it wasn't much because of the lack of light. Shizuna approached one of the several oak doors, unlocking and opening it. The two entered in silence.

"Wh-What are you doing?" Shizuna stammered, looking away with a blush as Connor reached for his coat, which was draped over a little chair beside the bed he was supposed to be resting in. He had his black jeans on, but that was all. The sight of his well-toned body was enough to make even the usually collected counselor a little flushed.

Connor slung the coat on, ignoring the little hole in the back of it. The white shirt he had been wearing beneath the coat was ruined beyond all hope, so he went without it, leaving his chest and stomach exposed. He flashed the two a quick grin before approaching the door, "Getting the hell out of this crap hole."

He bumped past the two ladies, who turned to follow him. "Connor, you need to be resting! The wound isn't completely healed, and you lost a lot of blood!" Shizuna pleaded with him.

"Wound? What wound? Relax," He paused to look over his shoulder, "I'm fine as long as I redirect my magic to the...spot, so let it go."

"You were shot. Magic or not, you need to take it easy," Kaede said, putting a hand on his shoulder to try and turn him back to the room.

"A certain musical artist I know was shot nine times, and he's still walking," Connor shrugged the hand off, continuing down the hall, though he didn't really know where he was going. "He didn't even have magic."

"She's out there crying because she thinks it's her fault you were shot! If you won't rest for yourself, do it for her!" The ninja folded her arms, satisfied that she had caused Connor to falter in his steps.

After a few seconds had gone by, he continued to walk, "That's ridiculous."

The two watched him fade off into the shadows as the halls stretched on, the sound of his footsteps gradually dying off. "He's the only ridiculous thing here," Shizuna muttered, following after him. With a sigh, Kaede brought up the rear.

-

Negi eased back out of the three-way hug, putting his hands on top of both girl's heads, "It's alright, Shizuna-sensei says that Connor's gonna be ok..." He left out the 'it's questionable' part, "So you don't need to cry, ok?" He stood up, taking his student's hands and helping them back to their feet.

Sakurako sniffed, wiping her face dry, "She said that?"

"Yeah, so don't worry."

With a sigh of relief, Sakurako began to trot away, "Ok, now that I know I really, really need to go to the bathroom. After I find one, I'll be back!" She called over her shoulder.

Ku Fei and Negi, now realizing that Shizuna and Kaede had left them behind, sat down in two of the three chairs to wait for their return. After a couple minutes of unpleasant quiet, Negi spoke up, "Ku Fei-san, why did you think Connor's getting hurt was your fault?"

"I still think it my fault he get shot, Negi-bozu," She replied half-heartedly, keeping her eyes low.

"He was...shot? But...how could that have possibly been your fault?"

"Cheerleaders find out I like Connor, and help me meet him by World Tree so I...so I get to te..." She trailed off, looking away.

"'Like' him? You don't need to take him to the World Tree to..." Negi now took his turn at trailing off, remembering the time the Narutaki twins had taken him to the World Tree. They said something about telling the person you love that you love them there, and then you'd become a couple for sure. _'I guess they didn't really love me...I mean...I guess the legend is a farce...'_

"Is embarrassing..."

"Y-You don't have to tell me about it...it's ok. But you didn't pull the trigger, right? So it's not your fault. If you had know, there's no way you would have been out there, right?"

Ku Fei nodded, still averting her eyes.

"So don't get all down on yourself over it. Connor told me himself that you were the best of 3-A! He wouldn't want you to feel bad about something that nobody had any control over. Besides, that I know of, you're one of the only people he doesn't seem to hate," Negi paused at this point, wondering if he had said the right thing. Yeah, he probably had, just not the right way.

"It's not that I hate most of you fools, it's that I don't like you," Connor stated, hands in his pockets as he came into view.

The two jumped up, both amazed to see him up and about. Ku Fei rushed for him, but Negi grabbed the back of her kimono, eyeing Connor suspiciously.

"Where's Setsuna-san?" He asked wryly.

Connor tilted his head to the side as though he wasn't even sure who that was, "What, you mean my fellow lady-lover? How the hell should I know, dipstick? I haven't even talked to her, yet!"

With a groan, Negi released Ku Fei. That sounded like Connor, alright. Setsuna must have beaten that fake...

Ku Fei wrapped her arms around him, trying not to cry. She was so glad he was alright, the heavy burden she had felt on her shoulders began to lift. He hadn't died because of her...

"Why do you think Setsuna is a...lady-lover, if you haven't even talked to her yet?" Negi mumbled.

"Have you seen the way she looks at the headmaster's granddaughter? Here's a metaphor for you, kid. Setsuna 600 pounds of unadulterated obesity, and Konoka a Big Mac. That's the best you're gonna get out of me, for now, kid."

Negi now sported a confused look, coupled with a bubbly stomach. Was he hungry, or sick?

Connor looked down at the girl who was holding onto him as though her life depended on it. "Easy, Sunshine. I'm alright, but only because I'm redirecting all of my magic to the..." He refused to say 'wound' or 'injury', or any other variation of those words, "Spot. I'm as normal as they come right now, and you're kinda hurting me..."

"You ok, though? No need magic to live, right?" Ku Fei asked, releasing him and looking up into his eyes. Bright and lively.

"Well, technically, without it I'd be bedridden and borderline dead, but yeah. How 50 did it, I'll never know," He muttered in response.

"Who's Fitty? I've never met him, have I?" Negi asked, his innocent face looking up to Connor for a straight answer, but all he got was a laugh.

"If you couldn't do magic, kid, you'd just be a waste of organs. You're so culturally...well, we're in Japan, so I'll let it go. Plus, you're only ten. Anyway...uh oh..." Connor stopped talking, his eyes falling onto Sakurako, who was staring at the three like she had never seen them before.

Negi and Ku Fei whipped around, both freezing at the sight of the cheerleader, "Oh crap, this bad..."

"Saku-Sakurako-san, how long have you been there?" Negi squeaked.

"What are you...magic? What..." Sakurako wondered, looking from one teacher to the other.

"Quick, erase her memory!" Connor pointed at the girl, who took a step back.

"But I can't-"

"Kid, now's not the time, hop to!"

Negi, though a little unsure, aimed his staff at the girl, chanting to the spirits to help him. Before Connor could wipe his brow and take that sigh of relief, Sakurako's clothes exploded from her body, leaving her embarrassed and naked on the ground.

"What the hell? That's not what I told you to do, you perverted little runt!" Connor shouted, hitting Negi on top of his head.

"That what you say, but your nose bleeding," Ku Fei grumbled, holding up her already ruined kimono to wipe the blood off of her teacher's face.

"I didn't mean to do that! I tried to tell you I can't do that spell, right! Just ask Asuna-san if you don't believe me!" Negi defended his head by ducking down low and covering himself with his arms.

Kaede and Shizuna looked from the naked Sakurako to the three who were apparently guilty about the girl's shed clothing. "Looks like we're going to have to go with the truth, after all," Shizuna sighed, moving to help the nude cheerleader.

_-----Author's other note: Ok, cool! We've gotten by a fair amount of drama and angst, so now it is definitely time for some true anime style filler episodes which are, in this case, chapters! I say this because I want to write a little about some happy stuff, yeah, that's just the kind of dude I am. I'm going to list some choices here for what the next chapter can be about, and whichever gets picked by a reviewer, or the most reviewers if more than one person chooses, I'll write on. If no one reviews, I'll just pick one myself._

_1. Ayaka is throwing a party at her mansion! Naturally, all of class 3-A (especially Negi, begrudgingly Asuna) are invited. When the power goes out, though, and a heavy storm kicks in, preventing anyone from leaving, the things that go bump in the night decide to make their presence felt. Can anyone say 'night in a haunted mansion'? I knew you could._

_2. Haruna and Yue try and push Nodoka's relationship with Negi further, but when the class rep finds out, she decides to intervene. She can't directly get in the way, so she enlists Connor's help in keeping the two apart. Without his magic, how's he going to 'discreetly' come between the two? Will Yue be able to overcome whatever it is she feels for Negi, and does Haruna have a thing for the new teacher, herself?_

_3. Chamo needs money. Bad. Negi is wary of the ermine's plans to get him to kiss his students, and instead suggests Connor gets a pactio card. After all, what's a mage without a real partner? Emotions are sure to be touchy as he begins his search for a 'partner'. Ku Fei, Asakura, Sakurako, and others all want a piece of this action..._

_Here are the choices, this time. I personally have no real preference, I just feel like writing about the lighter side of Negima! For a change of pace. If you have a cooler suggestion, let me hear about it. Also, if there's a specific character you want to be thrown into the mix (any of the suggestions above, or even your own), say so. No Konoka/Setsuna stuff, though. Sorry, Connor can joke about it, but I don't roll that way. Thanks for reading!-----_


	9. Who Loves You, Baby?

_-----Author's note: Time for true anime style filler chapter 1! (Yay no real plot development!) I do not own Negima, but any other characters and ideas are my own. Enjoy...-----_

Negi, accompanied by his temporarily mundane aid, entered the classroom on a murky Saturday morning. It had been nearly a week since the shooting, and since Sakurako had been unwittingly informed of the existence of magic in the real world. So far, she had kept quiet about it as per the request of her two teachers, Shizuna, the headmaster, Konoka and Setsuna, Asuna, Nodoka and Yue, and pretty much everyone else who didn't want Negi to wind up as an ermine.

Connor folded his arms as he entered the classroom with the boy, muttering more to himself than to Negi, "Why do we have to have class on Saturday? One day off per week is a load."

"Mahora still uses the six day school week system, but Saturday is only a half day, so it's not that bad," Negi replied, setting his bag down on the desk, "Besides, getting to see all of them so much is nice, don't you think?"

"You know how if you eat too much chocolate, you eventually don't want anymore? Yeah, it's sort of like that," Connor replied in a whisper.

The class rose to bow, which Negi awkwardly returned. Was he ever going to get used to that? So much respect being thrown his way was kind of overwhelming.

"Today, we're going to..." He trailed off when he saw a hand up in the air, "Uh...c-class rep, you have a question?"

Ayaka stood up, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders as she brushed her bangs back to speak. Connor could have sworn he saw some kind of flowers for a split second...maybe he hadn't fully recovered from that bullet, after all. "Negi-sensei, tonight I'm going to be hosting a-"

"Yay! Party!" Fuka jumped onto her desk, which was the sign that it was ok for the rest of the class to get up and waste the rest of the period by either swarming Negi, talking over him, playing some kind of 'studying' game, or some combination of the three.

"Y-You guys, please get back in..." With a sigh, Negi let his head droop.

"Good to see you've got such a tight leash on them..." Connor snickered, leaning back in his seat beside the desk, tipping the chair up onto two legs.

"Why don't you make them stop? You are, after all, my helper!"

Asuna and Ayaka began to fight. Negi had no idea why, and before long the usual bets were being thrown around.

"Because it's funnier if I don't help."

"I don't think it's funnier!" Negi exclaimed, pointing as Asuna flew across the room, "Does that look funny to you?"

Connor nodded, "Yeah, a little bit."

Yue watched as Negi tried to get in between the two fighting friends, who only stopped when one of them accidentally smacked him on the head. She gazed at the slightly wavering boy as he stuttered some kind of lecture about how fighting was bad, especially among friends.

Haruna looked over to her philosophical friend, her eyes glinting, "I smell something...like rotted candy almonds..."

"Like what? I..." Realizing she had a tinge of color in her cheeks that would without fail pass as a blush, she looked away indignantly, "Don't know what you're talking about."

"You can't fool me! You're totally in love!" Haruna whisper-yelled, now right up next to her friend.

"I am not! I-He...I can't, because...the age is too much, for me, I can't...what would Nodoka think of me...?"

"The age isn't that big of a deal! What's four or five years, really? In ten years nobody would even look twice! Nodoka? She'd probably love it! Well, inside, anyway."

Yue looked at her friend like she was insane. Was this the same person who had tried so hard to get Nodoka and Negi together?

"Of course, I can't just let you have him..."

That sounded more like Haruna. She wouldn't turn on Nodoka.

"I mean, I want him for myself, so don't count on any help from me," She laughed, patting Yue on the back.

"What? You..." Yue looked over at Connor, a light bulb going off, "You like Connor-sensei? But he's such a..."

"Hey, don't go off on him, now. After all, you're not one to preach, wanting him too! I don't know if either of us has a shot, though. Ku Fei's already got a big head start on either of us, and Asakura's been acting strange around him, too."

"I-I told you," Yue mumbled, relieved that the situation had steered away from Negi, "I don't love anyone."

-

"I love you so much!" Negi exclaimed, looking up into the eyes of the person before him, "I never thought it was possible for me to feel the way I feel when I'm with you, I didn't know such a good feeling was even out there!"

"R-Really?"

"Really. You make me a better person...you compliment my good points, and help to cover up my bad ones...you complete me."

Connor grinned as a blush spread out on the girl's face. It looked like she was about to pass out. He had definitely set Negi on the right path...

"N-N-Negi-kun...you shouldn't s-say such things..."

"I love everyone in my class, but you're different. What I feel for you is...is..."

"Come on, just say it, kid. You're one word away from sealing the deal with a kiss and netting me some cash..."

Chamo, who was perched on Connor's shoulder, was just as anxious to see Negi get a move on. He had exhausted a lot of money and connections trying to get a lead on the masked people, only to come up broke and empty-handed. 50,000 ermine dollars would go a long way in filling his wallet back up, and getting another probationary contract was the quickest way to get it. He had offered Connor a share in exchange for him talking the boy into it, and even giving him a few tips on what to say...

"Uh..." Words began to fail Negi. He didn't have the heart to lead his student on, like this. It was wrong...he liked Makie, but to try and drag her into the magic world would be wrong...

"I...like you, too...Negi-kun..." Makie said softly, slowly leaning down for a kiss.

Connor's mouth dropped. Chamo stuck a cigarette in it, jumping down and writing a magic circle around the two so fast no one even noticed.

"How the hell does he get older girls to like him, like that?" Connor muttered, not noticing the unlit cigarette resting between his lips as he gawked at the two from his hiding place around the corner of a building. "He hasn't even dropped yet, for God's sake!"

Makie eased herself onto her knees, so Negi was about an inch taller. She wasn't sure what was going on. Negi hadn't ever shown any kind of special affection for her before now, she'd always thought her affinity for him had been...well, just like a little brother. Now that she was caught up in the moment of his 'confession', though, she was wondering if it was something deeper than just a sibling-like friendship. Now that her lips were mere inches from Negi's, she was pretty sure her feelings were a bit more...

Just before the climactic moment Connor was silently cheering for, a blonde flash rushed into Makie, knocking her clean off her feet and sending her a good twenty feet away. His eyes wide, Connor trotted over to Makie to make sure she was alright. Aside from being knocked out cold, she was fine.

"Negi-sensei! Just what was going on?" Ayaka looked down at her stunned and embarrassed teacher. The boy saw a hint of desperation in her eyes.

"C-Class rep! It...It wasn't what it looked like...there was...something on my face..."

Connor set Makie down on a bench, laughing as he made his way over to the rep and Negi, "You knocked her clean out. Such rough behavior is unbecoming a refined lady such as yourself. Negi was telling me earlier what a nice person you were, and you do something like this, to repay his faith in you..." Connor shook his head in feigned disappointment.

"Negi-sensei said I was...I'm so sorry," The flushed girl gave an apologetic bow to her little teacher, who muttered that she should be apologizing to Makie, "I just came to invite you to my place tonight."

"J-Just us two?"

Ayaka's face lit up at these three words, "If you want it could be just us! I can tell everyone else to..."

"No, no, it's ok! What time should we show up?"

"We? Oh..." She glanced over at Connor, who shrugged. "Well, if you want to bring him...about seven should be fine."

"Is there anything I can bring? I could help you set up, if you'd like," Negi, in true gentleman style, offered his assistance.

Ayaka grabbed his arm, running off with him, "Of course, Negi-sensei! There's so much to do, and so little time to do it! You're so well mannered, not like..."

"Connor! Please take care of Makie-san!" Negi called out as he trailed behind the powerful class rep.

Connor watched them go, then turned to look at the unconscious pink-haired gymnast. "She's fine," He muttered, walking away.

Chamo leapt up onto his shoulder as he made to leave her, though, "Hold on, there! We need to have a talk..."

"Last I checked, little white rats aren't supposed to talk, so I think I'll pass, thanks," He tried to flick the ermine off of his shoulder, but the broke animal hopped up onto his head.

"Don't talk to me like that, Emo. This is a big deal...one that I think you'll be very interested in hearing..."

"Alright, alright, I'm listening. What is it?"

"It's about the probationary contracts...why don't we get you one?"

"Get me a what, now? Ha, ha, I don't think Shizuna's interested, rat."

"Shizuna? She's too much woman for you to handle, punk. I was thinking more along the lines of...well, let's step down about ten or so years from her..."

"What, the students? What kind of pervert are you? I can live without the whole 'pedophile' label, thank you."

"Who says it has to go beyond a kiss? There's plenty a girly out there who'd give you a kiss, no strings attached! You don't even have to tell them, we'll still pocket the money! Come on, what could it hurt to try?"

"My self respect?"

"You have enough of an ego to survive it, trust me."

Connor thought about it. Would it really be so bad to try out a partner? He preferred to do things alone, sure, but he'd gotten shot alone and that hadn't played out all that well. He'd have died if Kaede hadn't shown up. Hm...Kaede would make a good partner, wouldn't she? Not to mention there was the fact that lots of mages ended up marrying their partners. Would marrying Kaede be a bad thing? He pictured her in his mind, mulling the thought over.

"We would have damn good looking kids," He muttered aloud, much to the confusion of Chamo.

"What are you talking about?" The ermine mumbled, lighting a cigarette to help clear his mind. It seemed that he was really considering the probationary contract idea. Good...

"Uh, nothing...right, nothing. You have anybody particular in mind? This might actually work out."

"Well, tonight is the rep's party, right? Your entire class is going to be there, so that would be the perfect time to strike! We might even be able to get a whole bunch, if we play it out right..."

"Whoa, hey, we don't live in Utah, alright? Polygamy isn't gonna fly, here," Connor grinned to himself.

"What the hell's your problem? The more money, the bigger your cut! Geez, you make it sound like the contract is marriage..."

-

"Set-chan, you need to be more careful, ok? I don't want to have to worry about you all the time..." Konoka said, unwrapping the remainder of Setsuna's bandages. She was now completely healed, all of her cuts and bruises vanished, leaving no mark on her pale skin. Though she was alright outside, she was hurt inside. She'd lost pretty thoroughly, something that she didn't want to have to accept. It had been a fake, at that. Was Connor really that much stronger, or was the imposter that much stronger?

"I know, Ojou-sama..."

"Geez, don't call me that! It makes me sound old."

"Sorry, Ojou-sam...sorry," Setsuna stood up, brushing herself off. It felt good to have all of those stupid wraps off, she could move freely, now. It had been awhile since she had gotten hit enough that she needed almost a week for a complete recovery. Or maybe it only took that long because Konoka was paranoid about scarring...that was probably it. "Thanks for helping me," She said with a little bow.

Asuna laughed at her formality, scooting her desk chair back to hop up, "You need to relax, Setsuna-san. We help you out because we're friends, you don't need to be so uptight about it."

"Y-Yeah, I know..."

"Are you gonna come to the rep's party, tonight, Set-chan? We were all invited, so..."

"I don't think so...I've missed a few days of training, so I was planning on catching up a little. Besides, I'm more of a...not-party person," Setsuna admitted with a forced grin.

"Aw, come on. It'll be fun! I think Bookstore's gonna do something, too..." Asuna said, nudging Setsuna in the side.

"What makes you think that?" Sakurako asked, sitting on the edge of Konoka's bed. She had taken to hanging out with these three lately, trying to wheedle any information she could about magic from them.

"I overheard the library trio talking about it during lunch. I don't really know the details, but Negi might be in for an interesting night..."

Chachamaru looked over at them from the loft, wondering exactly what was going to happen. Hopefully nothing that she might feel compelled to intrude upon.

-

Connor strolled up to the massive iron gate outside of the Yukihiro manor, looking around at the massive garden he could make out through the bars before him. He could hear people off in the distance, talking and laughing. It was faint, but it was there. His eye caught a little intercom panel, which he stepped over to.

"Ritzy," He muttered, pushing down a button, "Hey, I'm here for the thing," He spoke down into the device.

"Come on, Emo! At least act like you've got a little class. Some of these girls go for that kind of thing, and you won't get in here with that kind of..." Chamo, who was tucked away into Connor's coat, trailed off as the gate began to slide open.

"You were saying? Anyway, I need to find Negi before I even start playing this game. He'll know who I should go for..." Thunder rumbled off in the distance as he crossed over onto the estate.

The teen made his way through the vast gardens of roses and violets, eyeing the big yellow flowers growing on bushes as he went. He had no idea what those were...a testament to his masculinity. As he drew nearer to the sound of people, the sound of footsteps was what caught his attention. Someone was running his way.

Negi tore through the gardens, his hope soaring as he spotted Connor. He dove into some nearby bushes before whispering, "Send them off somewhere else!"

Connor had no idea what was going on until Ayaka, Makie, and Asuna came into his sight, apparently a little out of breath. "Where...Which way did he go?" Ayaka asked, using Makie's shoulder to hold herself up.

He thought about pointing the boy out, and if he didn't need to talk to him, he would have done it in a heartbeat. He thrust a thumb over his shoulder, "He ran by that way. You ladies be nice to him, now."

He caught Makie's arm as she went by, pulling her to a stop. "You alright, pinky? You got hit pretty hard earlier..."

Makie looked at him like she had no idea what he was talking about, which she confirmed when she spoke, "Huh? When did I get hit? I remember I met Negi-kun earlier today, but the next thing I remember is waking up on a bench. Are you saying I..."

"You'd better hurry up or those two are gonna get to him before you do!" Connor pushed her to move, which she did. "Thank God she doesn't remember Negi's fake confession, that could have ended up messy. Guess I owe the blonde a thank you..." He made his way over to the bushes to pull the boy out.

"Thanks, Connor. They'd have caught me for sure if you hadn't shown up..." Negi muttered, brushing himself off.

"Why are they chasing you, anyway? You didn't do anything I wouldn't approve of, did you?"

"You mean use manners? Guilty as charged," The boy laughed.

"Ha, ha. Funny. I helped you out, so now I need some info," Connor knelt down to be face to face with the teacher.

"Ok, what is it?"

"Ok, now I need you to be serious, and honest, alright? Ok, first off...on a scale of 1 to kick-ass, of all the students, who would you say kicks the most ass?"

Negi blinked a couple of times before speaking, "What?"

"No, really. Who's the toughest of all of them?"

"Evangeline-san."

"The toughest that isn't in a comatose-like sleep."

"Um...Setsuna-san, or Kaede-san...maybe Mana-san, I don't know. One of those three. Why?"

"Hang on, not done yet. From ditzy to genius, who would you say is the smartest of all of them?"

"That one's easy, Satomi Nakase, Hakase-san," Negi replied quickly. "Chao-san is pretty smart, too, though."

"Wait, who the hell is Hakase?"

"Um...just check the class roster, later."

"Alright, here's a good one. From Springer to super-model, who's the cutest? Don't say you are, seriously."

"C-Cutest? I don't...uh...why?"

"Out with it, kid. I don't have all night."

"Uh...N...Nodo...Asu...Kon...I don't know..." Negi was sweating bullets right now, knowing there was no real 'right' answer to this question.

"That's fine, your opinion doesn't mean a thing to me, anyway," Connor grinned, "Ok, this is an important question here, and I need a solid answer. Of all of them, which one do you think likes me the most?"

Negi, now that the spotlight was taken off of his opinion of cuteness, looked at Connor as though he were a stranger. "Since when do you care what they think about you?"

"Hm? I still don't. But come on, no questions, just answers."

Negi knew that a few people cared about Connor, which was a bit more than he could understand. Ku Fei was the first person who came to mind. She had actually told him that she...'liked' the teacher. Then there was the incident involving the imposter with Asakura. He had said that he felt some of Connor's emotions, and that he had kissed Asakura because of that. Ever since the event, Asakura had been acting a bit off around him. Sakurako had already expressed feelings for him with him around, and while she thought he may be dead. Several other girls had some affection for him, but these three were probably the top candidates, Negi rationalized.

"Ku Fei-san, Asakura-san, and Sakurako-san. They probably like you the most. But...why the sudden interest in other people's opinions of you?"

"Already told you kid, I still don't care. Just wondering who I can get for a pactio without a lot of effort..." Connor admitted, standing up.

Negi's face went blank as he squeaked, "For a what? But...you can't bring them into this! We have to protect them, not use them!"

"Two of those three people you just named are weak. Lending them a little power through one of these contracts would actually help make them safer, wouldn't it? It's not like I'm going to throw them out into a war-zone. Besides, how many do you have? I know you've got at least four, so get off my case," Connor waved the boy off, walking away.

Chamo hopped up onto Connor's shoulder, waving a goodbye to Negi, "Sorry, Aniki! This is the best move we can make, though!"

"I...need to go to the bathroom."

-

Nodoka squirmed uncomfortably in her little purple dress, looking every which way for Negi, prepared to...hide from him. No matter what Haruna said, or even what Yue said, it didn't make actually talking with Negi any easier. Well, talking wasn't as bad as it used to be. Pushing the level up to casual make out sessions, that was the part she found impossible. Ugh...Haruna needed to give her a little more space...

Yue gave her nervous friend a reassuring pat on the shoulder, looking around for Negi herself. It wasn't because she wanted him to see her in her own dress...it was because she wanted him to see Nodoka...running away from him. No! That's not right, she wanted them to...have an argument...dammit!

"I need to go to the bathroom," Yue muttered, leaving the tranquil banter of the gardens, a little surprised that 3-A hadn't totally wrecked it yet. To be able to use the word tranquil while they were involved was weird, she had to admit. She entered the mansion, immediately lost. After a couple of minutes of wandering the massive halls and hundreds of rooms, she heard a welcome noise. She approached the sound of footsteps, calling out, "Excuse me, I'm looking for..." Her voice failed her as she saw who it was she was calling to.

Negi, pleased to find someone at all, hurried over to her, "Yue-san, I'm glad to see you! I just came in here to use the restroom, but I can't even find one!"

"S-Same here, Negi-sensei."

"Come on, we'll look together. There's something that I need to talk to you about, anyway..." Negi continued his search, with a surprised Yue behind him. What could he possibly want to talk to her about?

The two continued their wandering of the seemingly bathroom-less mansion in silence, one too flustered to talk, the other wondering how they should go about it. It was, after all, a delicate matter he needed to ask her about. After taking in a deep breath, Negi found the courage to talk, "Yue-san, I don't suppose that...there's someone special in your life?"

Almost tripping over flat ground, she had to use the wall to catch herself. "W-Why would you ask that? I've never...have I?"

Negi stopped walking to wait for his student, whose legs seemed to have gotten weak on her. "No, no, it's nothing 'bad', I was just...it's just that Nodoka-san..."

"Oh, it's about Nodoka?" Yue exhaled, half pleased, half depressed at this realization.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't be bothering you, it's just...well, you're one of her best friends, so I was hoping you could explain what she..." Wow, talking about this with somebody was harder than he had thought it was going to be. He was pretty good friends with Yue, at least he knew that was the case on his end, but it was still unpleasant. "That you could tell me what she expects from me..."

"What she expects...?" The two continued to walk, even if at a slow pace.

"She...She told me she loved me, and I just...the thing is, I don't know how I'm supposed to face her...knowing that. She deserves an answer from me, but..."

"I-Is the problem that you don't like Nodoka, Negi-sensei?" She asked quietly. The words, not exactly choice in themselves, just seemed to come out without her consent. She couldn't tell if she was asking for her friend, or for herself.

"N-No, no, not at all! I like talking with her about books, and stuff...I just...wish I knew what it was like when you, you know, when you really love someone," He turned an awkward smile to his student and admitted, "I don't know what to do."

'_Why do I keep forgetting...? Negi-sensei is only ten...he's never been in love before!'_

"What do you think I should do, Yue-san?"

"I...If that's the case, then...there is the fact that you're a teacher and she's a student. M-Maybe you could wait until she graduates...and then talk with her about it..."

"Y-You think so? You don't think that would be rude to her?"

"No, not at all. In fact, I'll bet she wasn't even expecting a solid answer when she told you that..."

'_Oh my God, what am I saying? Why...'_

"I don't think she's even in that much of a hurry...I mean, she might not have done any of it if Haruna and I hadn't pushed her into it."

'_There's Negi-sensei to consider here, too. Even if Nodoka doesn't...'_

"I think she just wanted you to know how she was feeling, that's all. If she'd have known how much it was going to upset you, I'm sure she wouldn't have said anything at all. So...I'm not sure that you should do anything at all. Nodoka would probably like it better that way, herself."

'_I just...'_

Negi nodded a little, flashing Yue a smile, "Just keep doing what I'm doing, and not worry about it, huh? I knew you were the one to talk to, Yue-san. I was feeling...pretty bad about all of that, but I feel better, now," He came to an abrupt halt, causing Yue to falter a second time. Walking was turning out to be a lot harder today than usual. "Finally!" The boy exclaimed, pointing to the bathroom they were nearing. "I'll just be a minute!" He paused before closing the door, "You've been a great help, Yue-san. Thanks."

Yue slumped against the wall opposite the bathroom, wondering what she had just done. Had she just...?

'_What's with this strange sense of relief? Why does Negi-sensei not having someone special make me feel so...to know his relationship with Nodoka won't be going anywhere for awhile, why would that make me feel so...good? What have I done?'_

She brought her hands up to her face, trying hard not to cry over her traitorous actions, _'Why does my chest hurt...? What kind of idiot am I? I should be ashamed of myself! Not only did I manipulate Negi-sensei's feelings, I framed Nodoka's feelings in a way that suited me best! I'm...a horrible friend!'_

She didn't even notice the figure leaning against the wall a few yards away, watching in amusement as she wallowed in her self loathing.

'_I can't kid myself any longer...I tried not to notice these feelings, but I can't ignore them anymore. I...I'm so...'_

"You are so-o-o-o in love with that kid aren't you, idiot black?" Connor finally spoke up, breaking into Yue's very personal thoughts.

She jumped at the sound of his voice, immediately more flustered than she had been at the sight of him, "C-C-Connor-sensei!" She yelped, trying to hide her tears.

"Don't call me sensei," He replied with a little point of his finger, "What a pal, huh? What a friend! Hiding your feelings so your friend won't get hurt..."

"What...I...You...Huh?" Yue stammered, waving her arms. She wasn't sure if she was trying to shoo Connor away or if she was trying to maintain her balance, or what. Did Nodoka do it because she felt like this a lot?

"Ha, ha, ha...you can't hide it from me, kid. I have a natural talent for catching the depth of people's affections," Uh, not my own though, or people's for me. Kind of funny, that... "And guess what? During my 'not-so-active' week, I've had plenty of time to piss off doing things that just don't make much sense! Take this, for example!"

Connor reached into his coat, pulling out a scroll which he raised up over his head, letting it fall open down to his feet, "Being the bad-ass that I am, I require all of my things to be equally awesome, so this magically reinforced scroll is constantly in the know about that little punk. Everyone who loves him is listed here, and even in order of who loves him the most! Check out your number, sweety!" Connor laughed at Yue's stunned expression, and suddenly felt that such a seemingly pointless creation had actually been worth the effort.

"Ah! St-Stop it! Cut it out! Pl-Please!" Yue moaned, so embarrassed and ashamed she thought she was going to die. If a big black hole sucked her down into nothingness, she wouldn't have the heart to complain. She'd actually be grateful.

"I lo-o-oved that bit about 'waiting until she graduates'! Very smooth, kid."

"Ah...uh...I'll tell him right now to answer her properly!" She rushed for the bathroom door, but Connor tripped her up before the first step had even fallen.

"Slow it down, sweety. Nothing you told him is technically wrong, so what's the problem?" Connor asked with a smile, holding onto Yue's leg to keep her from jumping up and breaking down the bathroom door.

"The problem is that I betrayed her trust!"

"Hey, now. Asking Negi to come up with an answer right now isn't going to get anyone anywhere good. What you said is what's best for them. You know, and you, too."

"Please let go! I need to talk to him!"

Negi looked over at the door, wondering if he had heard something. The mansion's doors were built of a solid oak, great for blocking out sound. If Yue had knocked, though, he would have heard. Oh well...

"He-he-he, Come on girly, 'fess up! We'll jump in together! The maelstrom of love and hate...the tortured triangle of forbidden romance...it'll be fun!" Connor laughed, letting go of her leg.

"D-Don't say that! Nodoka's my best..." Yue's head felt like it was about to explode. No amount of philosophizing was going to simplify this problem.

"It's because she's your friend! That's why it'll be fun! You really think that everything's gonna be blue skies and rainbows from here on out? You can't feel like you do and stay her friend, don't you get it? I mean, really, have you done what a real friend would do? Well? Let's hear it, girly!"

"I-I...I never..."

The bathroom door swung open, Negi hopping out, "Sorry It took me so...Yue-san, are you crying? Connor? Did you do something to her?"

"I'm not crying!"

"Why would I make a girl cry?"

-

Kaede's arm shot out, snagging Fuka and Fumika as they rode the blasts of wind with an umbrella. Rain was coming down in monstrous sheets, lightning bursting through the sky like a bullet through tissue paper. The bright flashes made the night sky seem like daytime, a siren off in the nearby city was going off.

"Everyone get inside!" Ayaka commanded, ushering everybody into the building. Once inside she, along with several maids, led the group of people into one of her fantastically large rooms, complete with crystal chandelier above and intricate carpet below. She flicked on one of her no doubt many big screens, upset to find typhoon warnings on nearly every channel.

"Well great, are we stuck here?" Chisame grumbled, wishing she hadn't come at all.

"There are worse places to be stuck, you've gotta admit," Chizuru replied with a warm smile. Chisame swallowed her comebacks, deciding on keeping quiet.

"Well, it looks like we'll just have to wait it out. Anyway," Ayaka clapped her hands for her maids to snap to attention, "Please prepare more food and drinks for our guests, they may be here for awhile."

The lights flickered, dying off with the television.

Ayaka sighed as several of the girls screamed, "And candles, too."

Konoka latched onto Setsuna's arm as a peal of thunder roared through the sky, causing the building to rumble.

"It's alright, Ojou-sama. The rain is soothing, really."

"What about when it's trying to tear the mansion down? Listen to that..." Sakurako mumbled, looking around at the dark room. She was about to burst, though. What could be better than a night in a mansion during a storm with all of your friends? The only thing that could make it better was some experimentation with magic...now she only had to find someone willing to share their gift with her...where was Negi when you needed him?

-

The child prodigy shivered as the lights went out, the three suddenly enveloped in an all-consuming darkness.

"Well isn't that nice?" Connor muttered, beginning down the pitch black hallway. Negi lit up a ball of light in his hand, following after his aid, pulling Yue behind him by the hand.

After taking a second to be paralyzed by his touch, Yue pulled her hand back with a little yelp, "N-Negi-sensei, I'll be fine! I'll just follow the light..."

A flash of lightning broke through the darkness, the peals of thunder loud enough that even Connor winced. When they straightened up, Connor turned to look over his shoulder. His voice tinged with frustration, he spoke, "Come on, kid, put the light back on."

After a few seconds without a response, Yue spoke, "Negi-sensei? Where are you?"

Another flash of lightning broke through the windows, flooding the hall with light. Yue and Connor were the only two anywhere to be found.

Connor let his head bang against the wall as he groaned in anger, "Oh, son of a b-"

_-----Author's other note: That was the longest chapter I think I've ever written (even if only because of dialogue), spanning fourteen solid pages. Damn! Only took one sit down, too. I got a vote for everything, and a vote for #1/everything, and a vote for #1, so I decided to try and play into everything. I've now set the stage for the next chapter, but I don't know when I'll finish it. Probably not tomorrow, though, because I have work. Fullmetalfan, rambling is cool, and your last rant made my day. Ah, reviews make me feel good (except hater reviews. I guess, I haven't gotten one yet, I don't think. Give it time...). For some of you, there will be a little deja vu in here, and yes, I did play the Juugo/Neo Negima card here and take from the actual manga. For those of you don't know what I'm talking about, don't worry about it. So who should Connor's partner be? He's kind of an ass, so having him pick Ku Fei is pretty unlikely, right now (though I personally think Ku Fei is one of the best in Negima!). I'm thinking about Kaede...that would be good for some drama later on, having Ku Fei and Kaede staying in the same room, after all. What do you guys think? I'll listen...maybe not act on it, but I'll definitely take opinions into account. I wonder if there would have been more votes if I waited longer...Well, thanks for reading!----- _


	10. The Proper Way To Use A Book

_-----Author's note: Time for the second true anime style filler chapter! (Yay no real plot development!) Actually, that's a lie. I'm gearing up FOR plot development. I can't make up my mind, serious or fun, serious or fun...In my last 'Author's other note', I hinted a little at the fact that I had taken dialogue from the actual manga, specifically, from the tenth volume. I'm thinking, now, that I should have handed out a warning before the chapter, because it isn't cool to spoil things for people. I didn't point out where the borrowed dialogue was for the manga's sake, but that doesn't suffice. Anyway, I'll be more careful in the future. No potential spoilers in this bit. I do not own Negima, but any other characters and ideas are my own. Enjoy...-----_

Nodoka's hands were shaking so bad she could barely hold onto the book in front of her. Well, maybe it wasn't entirely her fault. Sakurako, who had a iron grip on both of her shoulders from behind, was shaking pretty hard from anticipation at what the pages of the book contained, namely, nothing. It was what they COULD contain that had her dying to open it up.

"So-So we can really read minds with this thing? Right now, we could?" The cheerleader whispered excitedly, trying not to alert her classmates of their questionable intentions.

"Y-Yes, b-but we can't! It'd be-"

"Hella fun? Wow, and here I thought books were boring! Come on, come on, open it up!"

A flash of lightning illuminated the massive, candle-lit room, followed a split second after by a roar of thunder. The noise made several of the chatty schoolgirls yelp in surprise, followed by some scattered laughter. They'd spent nearly half an hour in there, by this point.

"B-But..." Nodoka stammered, looking around feverishly for her nosy friend, "Haruna could be back any minute!" She exclaimed, wishing her friend had never gone off to find Yue. It was true that they were at their best when they were a trio, but being a duo was infinitely better than playing it solo, at least for Nodoka. To make her even less comfortable, there was the fact that she barely even knew Sakurako!

"That's all the more reason to be quick about it!" The cheerleader pointed out, scanning the dimly lit room full of girls for a good target. After a few seconds of ignoring Nodoka, who was saying something about privacy, Sakurako's eyes lit up, "Let's start off with a quiet one! How 'bout Chisame?"

"Uh...I d-don't think..."

"You don't need to! We'll just take a peek at her thoughts...after all, what if we have a bunch of things in common? Then we can find out and be friends!" Sakurako tried to convince Nodoka to have a bit of fun, even if her feigned reason sucked like nobody's business. Oddly enough, it seemed to sway Nodoka's thoughts on the situation, even if only slightly. Maybe it was because, really, Nodoka had a bit of mischievousness inside, too. Sakurako chuckled a little at that thought. Not likely.

"W-Well...I guess it wouldn't hurt to look for just a second..." Nodoka's cautiousness faltered enough for her to crack the book open, muttering her classmate's name under her breath.

Sakurako's eyes widened as ink slowly and intricately unfurled over the pages, displaying not only text, but a picture! "That's ama...who's that?" She pointed down to the picture, at the girl she didn't recognize. She looked a little like Chisame, only older and...well, like some kind of super-model.

"I-I don't know...her sister, maybe?"

The two's eyes began to trace along the text...

...going to keep on top? That damned hentai site is catching up...what the hell is wrong with all of those perverts? I offer quality, non-offensive, kitty-maid photos, but no! They need to see what's going on down there, or more importantly, what's going i...

Nodoka tried to clap the book shut at this point, her face red and her eyes wide, but Sakurako shot her hand down and held the book open.

...I mean, God, there are only so many things a (I don't want to offend anyone anymore than I probably already have, so I'll not say what Chisame thinks next. Nodoka's now shocked, and mentally scarred, though) can be used for. I update, like, 3 times per day, but I'm running out of fetishes to slam! I've already got fourteen bunny-eared school-swimsuit shots...Maybe I need to rethink Chiu's morals a little bit...Some sacrifices can be made if I get to stay on top of the internet idol world...I guess I could show...

Nodoka, her eyes streaming in embarrassment, managed to overpower Sakurako and shut the book. She wanted to utter the word and have the thing vanish, but that would definitely catch attention, which she couldn't have happen.

"Aw, I wanted to see where that was going! Chiu, huh? I'll need to check that site out, sometime. Let's do Setsuna, next!" Sakurako grinned, glancing over at one of her newest friends.

"W-We can't do that! Setsuna-san i-is...uh..."

"Hey, I'm trying to get to know her, and she's a little...intimidating. Didn't you think so, before you got to know her?"

Nodoka forced a shaky nod. She was still a little uptight around the guardian, who always seemed to have her sword with her. But she knew now that Setsuna was a nice person, at heart, and only came off as icy at first.

"So this will help me out! Plus, I mean, isn't she all chivalrous, and stuff? We won't have to worry about anything weird in her head!"

Realizing Sakurako wouldn't let up until enough of her curiosity had been sated, the gentle librarian muttered her friend's name, then flipped the book open. She felt a little guilt well up in her as the magical ink spread out over the pages...

...-sama like that. B-Being this close is...ugh, my stomach hurts. No! What would everyone think of me if they were to know I entertained such thoughts! And with Negi-sensei, too? I'm despicable! Konoka Ojou-sama wouldn't be able to look me in the eyes anymore...

"Wait, hold on, what?" Sakurako whispered, staring at the picture and forgetting about the words as they continued to stream across the pages.

Nodoka hadn't even begun to read the words, her eyes being transfixed on the picture from the get-go. It looked like Setsuna and Negi were in an open-air bath, at night, with Setsuna's hand down in the water dangerously close to...or rather, grasping, his...

...Why can't I stop thinking about that? It was an offensive tactic used to disable my enemy! That's all, I didn't even know it was him beforehand! Hand...uh...God, am I blushing? I hope no one notices, I'm so glad it's dark...Yeah, he's the greatest guy I know, strong, dependable, smart, cute, funny...but he's ten! Ten, ten, ten, ten, ten, ten! Nodoka-san's already staked her claim, too! There's no way I could ever...

Nodoka tried to clap the book shut at this point, her face red and her eyes wide, but Sakurako shot her hand down and held the book open.

...Then there's Asuna-san's feelings to take into account. She'd never say it, but she may just...what about Konoka Ojou-sama? She loves him like family...maybe more...lucky...I mean, uh, dammit! Maybe...in some cultures...polyamorous relationships are...

Nodoka, her eyes streaming in embarrassment, managed to overpower Sakurako and shut the book. Did she need to worry about Setsuna going after Negi, now, too?

"Whoa-ho-ho! Negi-kun's stock is going through the roof! That was...not something I was expecting. This may be the greatest toy ever, Nodoka!" Sakurako stated through a smile which reached from ear to ear.

"H-H-Horrible...no more..." Nodoka groaned, reaching for her bag to put the book away.

"Hang on, hang on, we'll do someone that's a guaranteed safety zone, this time! Check out what Yotsuba's thinking!"

After nearly a minute of verbal poking and prodding, the cheerleader managed to persuade the librarian to give her another round of entertainment, er, insight...

_...so cute. I'll have to be sure to bake him a huge cake for his birthday. He always tries so hard at everything...anyone could admire that in someone..._

"What's going on with the text?" Sakurako wondered aloud, glancing at the picture of a giant chocolate cake before returning to the print, "It's different than the two before..."

"I don't really know...have you ever noticed something weird about when Yotsuba-san talks? I'm not sure what it is, but..." Nodoka whispered in response.

"Yeah, yeah! I never said anything because I thought I was just imagining something. Can't ever put my finger on what it is, though..."

_...But what I'd really like is for him to bake a cake for my birthday...I want him to really pay attention to me, but I always seem to fall into the background of things. Everyone else is so...pretty...I mean, how can I compete with the class rep, or Nodoka-san? I guess I..._

Nodoka tried to clap the book shut at this point, her face red and her eyes wide, but Sakurako shot her hand down and held the book open.

_...can always dream, though. He may never bake me a cake in real life...but I'll always be able to hope for it, to think about it..._

The picture of the cake changed, the only real difference was a nude Negi popping out the top, but it was a difference that made all the difference.

Nodoka, her eyes streaming in embarrassment, managed to overpower Sakurako and shut the book. Holy crap, Yotsuba-san, too? This was getting ridiculous!

"Wow! Even Yotsuba-san! I mean, I like Negi-kun, too, but I've never imagined him jumping out of a cake for me! I wonder if we had kept watching what-"

"No! No m-more! Really, I can't handle another surprise like that one!" Nodoka reached with a bit more determination for her bag this second time around.

"Wait, one more! This one won't even be a surprise if it's what she's thinking about, I just wanna see!" Sakurako urged her shy friend for one last peek.

A voyeur? Sakurako? It couldn't be... "W-Who?"

"The class rep!"

Nodoka's face went blank as she recalled the picture Haruna had drawn for her, the one which featured Ayaka and Negi in an...interesting position.

"She's probably your biggest competition for Negi-kun, so getting a look in on her real thoughts could give you a big advantage..." The perky girl pointed out, nudging Nodoka in the side.

With a deep breath, the librarian whispered the rep's name...

...can Negi-sensei be? I'm getting really worried...It's on nights like these that SHE comes out...

The two girl's eyes widened as they saw the picture, which featured a terrified Negi running for his life through a hall, with what appeared to be a girl scrambling across the ceiling in pursuit.

...But I can't say anything, or everyone will freak out! I can't go looking for him, either, at least not by myself! Even I can't stand up to that monster...ghost...dead girl, whatever she is by myself. I still haven't found the last two maids I sent after the noises she makes...

Nodoka moved to sit up, but a firm hand kept her down.

"Well, now. That explains a lot," Connor's voice cut through the steady hum of the other girl's talking. Yue was a step behind, with Haruna just a step further back.

"Wh-What do you mean?" Nodoka stammered, shying away from his touch. She may like Negi, but other guys still didn't do it for her.

Sakurako jumped up onto the book, sitting on it to conceal it from Haruna, who had just come dangerously close to finding the artifact. Even if she hadn't gotten a good look at it, she would have managed to sneak it from Nodoka sooner or later if she ever found out about it.

"I kinda lost track of Negi after the blackout..." The older teacher admitted with a forced laugh.

Before Nodoka could rush out to find the boy, Connor pinched her shoulder, sending the girl to the floor. Sakurako and Haruna went down before anyone even knew what had happened. Thank God it was dark...

"And what purpose did that serve?" Yue asked blandly, wondering if she was about to get the sleeper hold as well.

"You didn't see the picture, huh? Well, I can't have these three rushing off in the dark to find the boy wonder with some kind of dead girl crawling on the walls, now can I?" Connor replied, swallowing hard. He couldn't let them go, but he definitely didn't want to go himself. The Ring had given him all he needed of creepy dead girls. The Amityville Horror had doubled what he didn't need in the dead girl department. What the hell was up with the seizure on the ceiling? He hadn't been able to enter a room at nighttime for months after seeing that, without checking the ceiling to make sure there wasn't anybody up there... The girl in the picture looked to fall into the category of 'dead girl', therefore making her something he didn't want to deal with.

After waiting several long seconds for Connor to make a move, which he didn't, Yue mumbled, "Well, aren't you going to go find him?"

"Y-Yeah, after I get some backup..."

The two wandered over to Ku Fei and Kaede, who appeared to be having a good time with the blackout. They both stopped talking to greet Connor and Yue with a smile, which was weakly returned by the teacher. "Blue and yellow idiots, I need some help..."

"You call us idiots and then ask for our help?" Kaede asked with a grin.

"I mean it as more of a term of endearment, than anything else, but yeah. Let me explain the situation..."

-

Negi could feel his heart about to explode in his chest, but the anxiety would probably kill him before things got that bad.

'_I see you...'_

He ducked to the ground, covering his head and letting the waves of terror carry his hope away. He wasn't going to get away, this time. What in the voice gave it the ability to chill his bones and drain him of the will to push on? It had to be some kind of magic...whatever it was, maybe that was what left the aura. Maybe it was just the afterglow of whatever magic the voice cast...

'_Playtime, Negi-kun...'_

Negi's eyes shot open, wide and frightened. He could feel the sweat sliding down his neck, soaking into his already moist shirt. Every time he had the dream, now, it got closer. The next time might be the last time...

Wait, why had he fallen asleep? Where was he? His anxious eyes darted around the near pitch black room, only able to catch a few boxes, and what appeared to be rafters. The attic? A flash of lightning broke through the dark. Negi screamed as he fell back, a cracked and pasty face a few inches from his own. He scrambled away, staring into the black in terror. A second burst of lightning produced another moment of light, but the boy couldn't see the person anywhere.

He didn't need to see her, though, because he could feel her coal-black eyes surrounding him as she circled him from a distance. Those eyes, that had seconds ago been right before his own, were going to be burned into his mind for the rest of his life. He had looked into nothing, and that nothingness had looked back at him, dead in the face. He could hear her skitter around, almost like a giant roach. He instinctively reached for his wand, but it was gone. Why had he left his staff at home?

"Wh-Who are...What are you?" He muttered into the darkness, spinning to try and keep the rapid scraping sounds in front of him.

-

"Yeah, and that's what's going on," Connor concluded his brief explanation. If there really was some kind of creature in the mansion, they needed to find it, and Negi, as soon as possible.

"If Negi-bozu in trouble, we always help," Ku Fei jumped up, ready to follow Connor into the dark halls. Kaede rose to her feet as well, giving him the nod to lead on. Yue had resigned herself to the fact that she could never live with herself if she didn't do what she could to help her young teacher. Maybe she could prove to him that she was worth his attention this way...

"I'm coming, too," Asakura's voice brought the group of four to a halt.

Connor glanced over his shoulder at her, "Oh? And why's that, Blaze?" It was dark, but he could still make out the tinge of color in her cheeks.

"I-It sounds like it'd make a good s-scoop, that's all. Plus, I happen to know a thing or two when it comes to ghosts," She admitted, wondering how poor Sayo was doing, all by herself in that classroom.

"And you can bet your life I'm coming!" Ayaka said loudly, apparently having overheard the story.

"God, how loud was I? You guys should have told me to shut up if people could overhear!" Connor pointed at the three baka rangers.

"Asakura pretty much hear everything no matter," Ku Fei pointed out.

"And I know everything that goes on concerning my wonderful Negi-sensei!" Ayaka asserted, putting her hands on her hips.

'_That's why you're in the know about magic, too, isn't it?' _All five people thought with a chuckle.

"What's so funny? Come on, Negi-sensei might be in real danger!" Ayaka stormed off into the halls, "I think I may know where he is..."

After taking a deep breath to control his anxiety, Connor went into the hall after her, followed by the four other girls.

Chamo popped up out of Connor's jacket pocket, hopping onto his shoulder to whisper into his ear, "You'd better save aniki, Emo! He means a lot more to me than you do, don't think I won't-"

"Hey, I'm moving, aren't I? Relax. Th-This isn't anything I can't handle..."

"Good. Glad you understand. On a lighter note...this may be a good time to net some pactios, Emo! It's dark and spooky, you have girls with you who can find comfort in your arms, I'm around to whip up a circle at any time...not to mention two of the girls here have a thing for you," Chamo pointed out, resisting the urge to light a cigarette up in case the rep should see him.

"Everyone has a thing for me, rat. It's called adoration."

"You're so full of yourself it's nauseating."

"No, it's because you're addicted to nicotine and you're going through withdrawals because you haven't smoked in a couple of hours. That's nauseating."

"Hey, don't preach to me, Emo. I'll freaking cut your share down to nothing. You make with the charm and get us a card before the night ends, or else!" Chamo jumped back down into Connor's pocket, where he seriously considered a smoke. The worst that could happen would be that he set Connor's jacket on fire...

The teacher looked over his shoulder at the four girls behind him, each one bearing a candle. It looked like he had five choices, if he counted the blonde, who was currently leading the way. Ayaka, Asakura, Ku Fei, Kaede, or Yue. So many girls, so little time...

_-----Author's other note: Geez, I went from one of the lightest and most fun/easy-going chapters I've ever written to one of the more tense and creepy ones. Ok, I'll be honest for a sec and say that those movies I listed? Yeah, they scared the crap out of me (I only saw The Ring 2, though, not The Ring). I know, I'm a wuss. Really, Connor's not me, nor representative of me, except in that particular aspect. I'm much nicer than he is. Back to the story: I haven't yet picked who gets the pactio (But I know what's going to happen next). But! I have narrowed it down to these five. I actually planned to finish the mansion arc in this chapter, along with the pactio, but it's been too long since my last update and I can turn it into two meaningful pieces, so that's what I'm doing. Sorry about the wait, too. Family matters, of course, took precedent over writing, or I would have written it a few days sooner._ _As always, reader participation is encouraged. If you want Connor to get the card with, say, the rep instead of Ku Fei or Asakura, say so. If you want Negi to die at the hands of the girl in the attic? Yeah, just drop me the go ahead. You want Ayaka to discover Negi's magic? It's a possibility, right now. While you may not convince me to do anything, I love hearing what people want to see happen. I wish television and the like worked like that. Wouldn't it be cool to have a show like Lost or South Park take fan's suggestions seriously (without it ruining the show)? I guess that's just what fanfiction is for. Anyway, sorry for going on so long. Thanks for reading...-----_


	11. Two For Two

_-----Author's note: I do not own Negima, but any other characters and ideas are my own. Enjoy...-----_

The group of six made their way through the halls, led on by the apparently fearless class rep, Ayaka. Connor was everything but fearless, right now. His eyes were darting around in anticipation, his ears strained to catch any noise that might give away the creature's approach. He was getting frustrated at his company for walking so loud, but he was glad they were with him, nonetheless.

"Rep, what's up with the 'having a dead girl in your house' thing? You'd think we'd have at least heard something about it before now," Asakura asked, moving in stride with the blonde, pen and pad in hand.

"Well...it's not really something I'm proud of, so I don't normally say anything about it. I mean, would you?" The rep retorted with a frown.

"Really, what's going on?" Kaede cut in, interested to hear for herself.

With a sigh, Ayaka began, "Um...a long time ago, before I lived here, this place used to be a-"

"Indian burial ground?" Connor cut in.

"A what? Th-That's...not Japanese, no. It was a-"

"Hospital?"

"No, not a hospital, Connor-sensei. It was a-"

"Daycare that burned down?" He popped a third question, adding under his breath not to call him sensei.

Ku Fei nudged his arm, "Hey, she never gonna tell us you keep stopping her!"

"A-Actually, the third one was right," The rep admitted, the shadows of the night hiding the look of surprise on her face, "How did you guess?"

"I've seen enough movies to be able to guess, for this kind of thing, honey. Plus, dealing with all things ma-"

Yue reached up and clapped a hand over his mouth, while Asukara quickly spoke, "So the girl is someone who died in the fire? But...why didn't she stay dead?"

The rep shivered, rubbing her shoulders as she continued to lead the group down through the halls to the East wing. "I'm not really sure. But seeing it was enough to make a believer out of me. I've tried exorcisms, and even seals to try and stop the thing, but she won't go away. Normally she stays in the East wing, where her body was found, but on bad nights, she'll go anywhere on the grounds..."

Yue found this particular subject to be insane, but with her being exposed to magic, was it totally unbelievable? Evangeline was supposedly some sort of vampire, Chachamaru was a robot, and Kaede, the very girl beside her, was very likely a ninja. She'd recently seen a dragon, for God's sake. Living dead really wasn't all that hard to stomach, an oxymoron though it may be. "How can you stand being here with the thought that it could come for you whenever there's a storm? Wouldn't it be easier to just move?"

"That would be the intelligent thing to do, now wouldn't it?" Ayaka asked with a forced grin.

Connor, along with the other four girls, nodded.

"But...this is my home. This is where I grew up, ghost-girl and all. If I can't make her leave, I'll be damned if she can make me! Besides, she's afraid of fire, so as long as I keep the fireplace in my room going, she won't come in."

Kaede let out a sigh of relief. The room containing all of the girls was lit up with candles, so they'd probably be safe from any ghostly visits. All the same, she had left Mana and Setsuna there, as well. There was nothing to worry about...

"Scared of fire, huh? 'Cause she burned to death? How pleasant," The teacher muttered, wishing he could use magic safely. Hell, forget it, if that thing showed up he'd probably set the room on fire. The rep would find out about magic, and he might burn the house down in his excitement, but that thing wasn't going to come near him.

"I glad I have candle," Ku Fei admitted, the talking slowing to a stop.

Asakura was busy writing on her little pad, squinting in the poor light as she did so. She let her steps slow so that she fell just a step behind the group. She was trying to look busy with her journalism but, rather, it was the little ermine hiding in her shirt that had her full attention.

"Must have been one monster of a daycare," Connor commented quietly, still keeping his eyes moving.

"Actually, the East wing was the daycare, the rest was added on after the damages from the fire had been repaired. Honestly, the old daycare was supposed to be at the center of the mansion, but due to several...accidents...during the construction, they decided to continue with the process as far away from the East wing as possible. My great grandfather thought they were being superstitious, but...well, some accidents aren't always accidents, I suppose," The rep replied calmly, as though she were talking about what they would be having for lunch tomorrow.

'_She seems...pretty collected. I'm about to piss myself, but she's rolling with things nice and smooth. She might make a good partner, after all. Plus, there's the money...' _Connor pondered the possibility of choosing her as his partner. If he married her, after, he'd be set as far as money went. She didn't have Kaede's quiet charm, but she wasn't someone to stick your nose up to, either.

"Crap, she's a pedophile, though, isn't she?" Connor muttered, his eyes widening as he realized he had said that out loud.

"What you say?" Ku Fei asked, glancing at Connor questioningly. She had heard him quite well, but she was wondering why he had been thinking about Ayaka. She wasn't really expecting a good answer, but at least trying seemed to be the thing to do.

"Nothing you need to worry your pretty head over, Sunshine," Connor replied sweetly, patting her on the head.

Ku Fei forced a smile, letting the comment slide out of focus. Well, at least she tried to. Did he like the rep? Maybe that was the kind of girl he liked...well-spoken, elegant, rich, tall. She also had something that Ku Fei couldn't ever have; fair skin. If that was a selling point for Connor, she had no chance in the looks department. That thought alone was enough to upset her.

But she shouldn't get upset, she knew that. He had told her, on more than one occasion, that she was his favorite. So...that meant that she had the best chance of a relationship with him, too, right? He had to know how she felt about him...that night under the World Tree, she had done everything but say 'I love you'. She might have done it, too, had things not ended so horribly wrong. Even though they both stayed in the same room, neither had mentioned that night since. He knew...right?

Connor rubbed the back of his head, the warmth from the friction easing the icy chill which had taken hold of the air. He had goose bumps all over._ 'There's always Sunshine to think about, too. I can't exactly remember everything that was said before I was shot, but I'm pretty sure it was getting deep. I already know she's strong, so that's a plus. As far as looks go...well, I'm sure she'll get taller, plus the incredible cuteness will eventually blossom into hotness...People say that if you like a person's smell, you'll like them, right? It's something like that...I'll definitely have to think about her...'_

Asakura inhaled sharply, causing everyone to whip around in fear. The tension that exploded into the air in that second was so dense that everyone felt nearly twice their weight. Connor nearly fell down, he spun so fast. The paparazzi girl looked at them in surprise, a little embarrassed, "Sorry, just a hiccup..." She lied feebly.

The group moaned, continuing onwards.

The real cause of Asakura's sharp breath was not some light form of indigestion, but rather what a certain cigarette-loving animal had whispered to her. So Connor was looking for a partner...and he was going to pick from one of the five girls present? If he really didn't care who he got, like Chamo said, that gave her a twenty percent chance straight out of the gate. If she let him know she wanted to be his partner...would that make a difference, to him? Would he reject her because she wanted to be his partner? He didn't seem like the type to care for any sort of commitment, and she didn't want to come off as being one, if that's not what he wanted.

...Wait, why did she give a damn about him if he was like that? If he could pick any girl out there and be fine with it, why should she even consider wanting to be that girl? He was willing to settle for just any girl...well, she wasn't just any girl. She knew for a fact that she deserved better than what he had to offer her, namely, nothing. He didn't even care enough about her to talk to her about it.

But he had promised to protect her, right? He said that he'd protect her from the darkness, and those words were burned as much into her mind as they were her heart. He had let her sleep against his shoulder, she would have sworn that he had kissed her...or maybe that was just the nice kind of dream that had recently been replaced with the frightening one, making its last stand for her. She had woken up in the headmaster's office, later that day. Maybe the entire thing had been a dream. Connor hadn't mentioned it since then, and she didn't have the courage to talk to him about it, herself.

"Big sis?" Chamo whispered, now perched up on Asakura's shoulder, "Did you hear me?"

Asakura snapped out of her thoughts and stole a quick look over at the little ermine, "N-No, sorry. What did you say?"

"I said...I told Emo, over there, that I'd cut his share for back-sassing me. If you get the pactio with him, I'll give you that chunk of the cut his attitude lost him," Chamo offered his favorite redhead a little incentive to pursue some lip-locking with the partner-less teacher.

"So...he's only doing it for the money? He really doesn't have anybody that he wants..." She wanted to say 'by his side', but that would be weird to say out loud. It felt weird to think it.

Chamo caught the glint of sadness in her eyes as she said that, and had to fight hard to keep the perverted old man soul in him from breaking through to the surface and saying something that he might regret later. He could tell that she gave a damn about that idiot in the black coat. He could also tell that Ku Fei did, too, for reasons beyond his understanding. Connor actually tried to come off as a jerk when he first arrived, attempting to make a poor impression on the girls so that they would leave him alone. The ermine knew this. Maybe the girls did, too? Maybe they could see through the rough exterior as well as he could. Well, probably not, but everyone knows to a certain extent that everyone puts up a front for one reason or another.

"Sis, don't let him grow too much on you. After this whole 'voice' issue is put to rest, you can bet your looks he'll be out of here faster than a paid call-girl." After he got a surprised look from Asakura, he added, "It's a metaphor, I don't really know how quick they leave!"

Connor, relieved that, apparently, Asakura had only made that noise to scare the crap out of him, turned full around, and continued to follow the blonde's lead. _'...There's always Blaze.' _He cast a quick look over his shoulder at her, passing it off as brushing something off his back, _'I don't know what it is but...something about her is...huh, I guess I can't really call the rep a pedophile, can I? Takes one to know one, dammit. But...Sunshine means a lot to me, too. How can I pick one, and not the other? Maybe...I should cut my problems and take the easy way out...'_

Kaede caught Connor looking at her, and returned his thoughtful gaze with a little smile. He wasn't scared, was he? No, that couldn't be it...

"Well, here we are," Ayaka announced as the group stopped before two large doors, "On the other side is the East wing. I'll just say now, that it hasn't really been all that well maintained due to the...trying circumstances, it's under. Negi-sensei's probably in here, so let's get going!" She exclaimed, pushing the doors open.

-

"Hey, have you seen Negi-kun, lately? I haven't seen him since he got away, earlier..." Makie asked Yuna. The two, along with Akira and Ako, were sitting amongst the girls of 3A, waiting for the storm to let up. There was no way anyone would go to sleep of their own choosing, definitely not! Well, except, for some reason, Nodoka, Haruna, and Sakurako.

"Nah, I haven't seen him, either. You think he's ok?"

"Maybe he got lost?" Akira suggested, "It is a big place."

"The rep wouldn't let Negi-kun get lost in her house! She'd go on a mission to find him, and make a big deal about it, like always!" Makie stated loudly.

"Actually, I don't see the rep, either. Connor-sensei is missing, too. Looks like we're missing a few people..." The swim-team prodigy said quietly, looking around for the missing people.

"You're right...that's weird. You don't think that maybe they're...you know..." Yuna muttered, getting down low so no one would overheard her.

"'You know', what?" Ako asked seriously, a little grimace spreading across her face.

"Well, think about it! Negi-kun, and Connor-sensei are both missing, along with several of the girls. Among these girls is the rep, who we all know has a thing for Negi-kun, Asakura, who has, in fact, taken pictures of us in the bath! Who else isn't here?" Yuna mumbled, looking up to see who else she couldn't see. Her scan of the room was cut short, however, when Makie jumped across the two foot gap between them and tackled her to the ground.

"Negi-kun wouldn't do that!" The gymnast squealed.

"You didn't say anything about Connor-sensei, though!" The basketball player returned with a laugh.

Ako sighed deeply, lowering her forehead to an open hand, which attempted to rub a headache away. "Do you ever feel unimportant?" She asked Akira, who was quietly watching the two girls wrestle each other and argue about what their teachers would and wouldn't do.

"How do you mean?"

"Like, if our class was the center of a story, or tv show, that you'd be one of those characters that had, like, three lines over the span of the entire thing? Or...an easy transition from one part of a story to the next...you know, background characters. You get what I'm saying?" Ako tried to get her meaning across.

"That sounds kind of sad. I think we'd make good characters," Akira admitted quietly.

"I know, but don't you ever feel like that?"

"All the time."

-

"Emo! Keep it together!" Chamo commanded, smacking Connor in the face to keep his legs from shaking any harder.

"I-I know, I know. Look, I know. Really, this isn't a problem...I can pick up a fight thirty some on one and kill every last one of 'em, something I've already done on campus, too," The edgy teacher tried to reassure himself, "I'm a bad-ass, I'm a bad-ass, I'm a bad-ass," He began to chant quietly to himself. A bang sounded throughout the massive room.

Connor spun around so fast it was as if he had never been facing the other way. He threw a hand up, letting loose a burst of fire, which lit up the whole room in a bright red light. A surge of pain shot down his spine as he temporarily released the magic from his bullet-wound, causing him to arch over backwards, and topple over onto the ground.

Ayaka's eyes were wide as she stared at the huge red afterglow, which was quickly fading away. Thank God nothing had caught on fire... "What the hell was that?" She nearly yelled.

Asakura dropped down to Connor's side, putting a hand behind his head and gently lifting him to a sitting position. "Are you alright?" She asked, wondering what on earth had happened to cause him to fall down.

"Y-Yeah, I'm not supposed to use..." He trailed off, his face going blank as he realized he'd just used magic in front of the rep. He spotted Ku Fei, who was sharing an equally stunned look on her face. Her hands were out in front of her, and a thick book she had apparently taken off of a little stand was on the ground below her. She grinned awkwardly, putting a hand up to the back of her neck, "I drop, I sorry!"

"That was the noise?" Connor asked, jumping up and pointing at the book as though it had done something wrong.

"Hey! Hey, don't ignore me!" The rep demanded, looking at the people before her for an answer, "What was that just now?"

"Nice job, captain inconspicuous," Yue grumbled.

Before anyone could attempt to lie the way out of the issue, a scream punctured the darkness.

"Negi-sensei!" Ayaka shouted, rushing off towards the noise, followed by the others. She tore through the halls at a speed hardly anyone could match. The boy's shout had come from this way...to the rep's terror, she found the steps to the attic already lowered. She didn't falter, however, and quickly dashed up them.

The rest of the group were up shortly after, looking frantically for the boy teacher. The yell had definitely come from up here, it must have! Kaede spun to watch the stairs to the attic slam shut behind them, the lock beneath the door clicking loudly.

It was so quiet...like the sound at a funeral, as the coffin is carried to the grave. The only sound was their breathing, as they stood in the darkness, the candle's light flickering only enough to show them the next two feet ahead of them.

"Kaede-san, Ku Fei-san, Yue-san, go that way. Connor-sensei and Asakura-san, come with me," Ayaka commanded in a whisper, the two groups quickly marching off in opposite directions.

Connor wanted to say that he needed to stay with Ku Fei and Kaede, but the reason was because he knew they could handle themselves well in the face of danger. These two wouldn't be much help fighting off a deranged dead girl. But...no, the rep was counting on him to protect her and Asakura. It was a good choice, whether he liked it or not. It was time to stop being afraid, and time to be the bad-ass he loved claiming to be.

"Emo, hey, I've got an idea," Chamo whispered, unwilling to come out of the teacher's pocket. Connor hadn't even noticed him get back in there.

"Wh-What?"

"Attempts at sealing usually fail because there isn't enough 'good' magic to overcome the 'bad' magic in the body. Sure, the body is pretty old and dead, but if you can tear the spirit out and send it on its merry way, we'll be able to save aniki easy!"

"Negi-sensei!" Ayaka whisper-yelled into the darkness, weaving her way in and out of the stacks of boxes and old family portraits.

"Two problems with that," Connor replied quietly, "One, I can't use magic right now. Worst case scenario I bust the wound open to hell and kill myself. Two, my magic...isn't exactly... 'good'. I'm more of the 'use whatever's convenient at the time' kind of guy, so I'm more grey than I am black or white. I can't rely on the pure white side of things because I use the black side, too."

"Wh-What? What the hell kind of mage are you...? Ok, ok, I've got another plan. It follows the same road as the first, but we'll need to find aniki for it to work," Chamo paused as he heard a soft skittering noise flit across the ground to his right, "You might wanna make that a rush job, kid!"

"Negi! Negi, where the hell are you?" Connor asked, not even bothering to whisper. That thing could probably see them anyway.

"Negi-sensei! Where are you?" Asakura called, sticking close to Connor.

A soft whimper returned their calls, leading the three to find the boy huddled in a small spot in-between stacks of boxes. The frightened teacher found the will to look out at the three, his eyes overflowing with happiness as he jumped out of the little space, rushing the few feet of distance for a hug.

Ayaka threw her arms open, ready to embrace the boy and never let him go, but he jumped into Connor's arms, instead.

"D-D-Did y-you get her? Is she s-still here?" The boy stammered, burying his face into Connor's jacket.

"Actually, I'd like to get the hell out of here and not have to get anyone," He admitted, picking Negi up and turning to leave.

"Hold it, Emo! We can solve all of our problems right here, right now!" Chamo shouted, jumping out of his hiding spot/pocket.

Ayaka gawked at the ermine as he busted out a stick of chalk and began to work his magic on the ground at the speed of sound. She was so stunned she couldn't even register the sound of the girl approaching.

"Ok, you two!" Chamo pointed at Asakura and Connor, "Get in this circle and make like hormone-driven teens!"

"Shouldn't be a problem," Connor stated, grabbing Asakura's shoulders and pulling her over the white circle below. There wasn't a lot of time to go formal, like he would have preferred, but he knew how to listen when he needed to. If this was Chamo's plan, there were definitely worse ways for it to start.

"You two!" The ermine now pointed at Ayaka and Negi, who both blushed furiously, "Time to indulge in a shotacon fantasy, sister! Kiss him over the circle, quick!"

"If I'm dreaming, I'm sure as hell going to make it count!" Ayaka shouted, grabbing Negi and standing him over the circle, lowering her face to meet his.

"Aniki, Emo! I need you both to release your magic restraints during the pactio! I can use the excess flow of magic to bind the girl! It's our only shot!"

Negi heard his friend loud and clear. Everything had happened way too fast for his comfort, but his comfort was not a high priority at this moment. Saving his students...even though he was terrified, himself...this was the way to come through, and he would do it. He put a hand behind Ayaka's head, gazing into her eager eyes.

Was she really about to...? She'd had the dream of kissing Negi innumerable times, but this one felt different. She could truly feel the warmth of his hands, one on her waist, the other behind her head. She could feel his breath on her chin as he slowly raised his lips to hers. So slowly...too slowly...She moved in to finish the kiss herself, unable to bear waiting a second longer.

Connor looked down into Asakura's eyes, putting a hand under her chin to tip her face up to meet his.

'_I-It's just like at the train...'_ She knew she was blushing. She knew he knew. It was a rough circle she was trapped in. She was embarrassed that she was about to kiss him, and she was even more embarrassed because he knew she was embarrassed.

His hand slowly slid up and over her cheek, his eyes tracing the curves of her lips. He wanted to say something perfect, something that would forever imprint the moment into both of their minds. He hated that he wanted to. How old was she? Fourteen, or fifteen in the best case scenario. Was...was that really such a big difference that he should feel bad about what he was wanting to do, to say? Maybe.

"Asakura," He whispered softly, wrapping his other arm around her and pulling her closer to him.

She gasped a little, but didn't pull away. Her body seemed to have a will of its own. She found herself putting her arms around him, leaning into him. He had said her name again...and it had sounded really, really good.

A purple light flashed into existence as Negi and Ayaka's lips touched, the girl's skin tingling with two kinds of magic; the kind you get from kissing the person you love, and the kind that supposedly only exists in fairy tales. The rush shooting through her body wasn't make-believe, though. Their kiss lingered, Ayaka refusing to let it end, and Negi unsure of whether or not he wanted it to.

Chamo turned to look at the other two. As soon as they did it, he'd be able to garner the overflow of magic and use it to seal the girl away. The only x factor was how well the seal would actually work. Connor's magic wasn't purely on the white side of things, and that might muck up the design of the sealing technique.

"C-Connor...I..."

Before she could say what she wanted to say, Connor had brushed her hair back, and lowered his mouth to hers, easing into a soft kiss. Asakura closed her eyes tight, afraid to open them and see him. This was the most intimate thing she'd ever done, even if it was somewhat forced by circumstances...but...it was in this moment that she knew she really...

With an inhuman shriek, the girl haunting the East wing leapt into the air over the stacks of boxes, her cracked face illuminated by the flickering candle Chamo was standing beside. The light from the two pactios burst through the darkness, momentarily blinding all of them.

The light from the magic faded away. Chamo hopped onto a spinning coin, laughing in triumph, "Sealed it in a coin, hot damn! You like that, ghost girl?" He asked, jumping up and down on the coin.

Negi slowly backed away from the rep, whose eyes were still closed as she stood up to her full height. Her legs were shaking, as though they might give out, but she never fell. She opened her mouth to say something, but found she was unable to speak. Negi was feeling a little embarrassed himself. There was some tongue, with that one.

Asakura would never have let the kiss end if she had her way. Connor, at the moment, was feeling the same way, but the pain in his back was close to sending him to unconsciousness. Their lips parted as he slid down her, sinking to his knees, breathing hard. He could feel a light sweat forming on his face. Letting his magic go like that, when he was using it all to manage his injury...was he trying to kill himself? He fell backwards, hitting his head on a box as he went.

He felt at peace while lying on the ground, in the dark. He could see Chamo jumping up and down on a coin, by the still lit candle. So he had sealed the girl in a coin...how creative. He heard the faint sound of something scraping the ground, and turned his eyes to see what it was.

A flash of lightning lit up the attic through the large, round windows, revealing Ku Fei, Kaede, and Yue. "N-Negi-sensei..." The librarian whispered, her eyes wide. She knew what had just happened, but seeing it happen hurt her. It felt like someone had taken her stomach in their fist and squeezed.

Ku Fei took a step back, her eyes watery.

"S-Sun...shine...wait..." Connor said, feebly, reaching a hand out to her.

Ku Fei ducked down, throwing a fist through the floor to unlock the hatch. She kicked the stairs open and rushed down them. Yue turned and ran after her.

"Well...this will make things a bit more complicated..." Kaede whispered, moving to help Connor up. Asakura took his other arm, and the two hauled him up onto one of the nearby boxes.

He shrugged them off, stubbornly rising to his feet, "I-I need to...talk to her..." He muttered, making his way for the stairs.

Asakura watched him go, her heart heavy as he descended down the stairs. Did he care about her...or Ku Fei?

"Hey...I think I need some serious filling in," Ayaka finally managed to speak, her face still an impressive shade of red.

Chamo scooped up the two pactio cards, a big grin on his face as he lit a cigarette, "Then listen up, sister, and listen well! Because you're a part of the team, now!"

Negi hurried after Connor down the stairs, catching the back of his coat and spinning him around, "What are you going to do?" He asked quietly, his face a mixture of empathy and worry. Was...was Yue upset with him, for doing the pactio with Ayaka?

"I'll find out when I get there," Connor replied, his strength returned enough that he could speak alright. Walking was still a little questionable, but he had done alright thus far.

"Do you want me to help you find them...?"

"No, I'll be fine."

Chamo jumped down the stairs, landing squarely on Connor's shoulder, "Aniki, you need to make sure the two sisters up there get back to the others, ok? Plus, you're gonna need to explain to the newbie what's going on...I'll help Emo find those two, myself."

Knowing he probably couldn't find them by on his own, Connor didn't object, "I'll be back, kid. Come on, rat, let's go."

After Negi was out of earshot, Chamo spoke up, "They're not in the mansion, anymore."

"Yeah, I kind of figured they wouldn't be. It'd be too simple that way."

"You call what just happened simple? You've got two girls with broken hearts, Emo! One of them is your fault, too. But...that's not what I'm worried about. You've seen it, right? On Yuetchi? She has the aura, too."

Connor stopped walking to look at the ermine, "What? No, I haven't seen it! My magic's been tapped out since last week! Why didn't you say anything before?"

"I've been holed up in the dorm room on the magi-net, trying to find some kind of lead on the voice. This is the first time I've seen Yuetchi in a while. But...I wonder why aniki didn't notice it?"

"Great. We've got two upset targets running around at night, in a storm. We'd better find them quick..."

_-----Author's other note: I guess I don't really understand the concept of filler chapters, huh? Everything I write always turns into something serious...Well, I thought it was a pretty good chapter. I at least know I enjoyed writing it, so I'm good. Kind of cliffhanger-ish, yeah, so the next chapter should be pretty fun, too. Well, not 'fun', fun, but...interesting, I guess is a better word. Well, thanks for reading!-----_


	12. Cloudy Weather, Cloudy Hearts

_-----Author's note: I do not own Negima, but any other characters and ideas are my own. Before I continue the story, I would like to thank the readers here for over a thousand hits! All you haters out there with 10,000+ hits, don't speak. It's a first for me! And it's in the spirit of my 1,000+ hits, that I've decided to try something a little...different, in this chapter. I've received a PM requesting some action, and by action I don't mean fighting. Yeah, that kind of action. Since I'm always asking for reader participation, it would be wrong of me to turn down this request, right? Well, here's the warning: This chapter WILL contain gratuitous make-up sex between Connor and Ku Fei, so if this kind of thing offends you, DO NOT read the chapter. I will be changing the rating of this story to 'M' as soon as I figure out how. Anyway, enjoy...-----_

_-----Author's other note: Yeah, about what I just wrote? I'm totally screwing around. For all of you whose hopes I just got up: I'm sorry, please stop cussing me out. For everyone else who was like 'what the hell is wrong this guy?', don't worry, I'm not lost to the dark depths of real perverted writing. There was no PM requesting any 'action', either. I'm a liar. I wonder if anyone thought I was serious? Seriously, though, enjoy...-----_

Asakura took a picture of the rep as she sat down, her legs gone weak after hearing what her teacher had just said. Of course, locking lips with the love of her life for the first, and hopefully not the last, time hadn't done much for her ability to stand, either. But...had that light really been more than her soaring imagination? She'd been ecstatic at the simple thought of a dream kiss, but she'd just had a real one, with real magic. Negi had just told her that he was a...a mage?

Negi sat beside her on the stuffed-to-bursting box, putting a hand on her shoulder as he tried to make eye contact, "Ayaka-san, I'm sorry I've gotten you dragged into this...especially in such a personal way. I never meant to...to use you, like that. If you're upset with me, or even angry about what happened, you can tell me."

Ayaka returned the boy's sincere gaze with one of pure adoration. The look in her eyes told Negi she wasn't mad, just a little confused. "Have you been...magical, ever since you got here, Negi-sensei?"

"Ha, ha, yeah. In Kyoto, the doubles in that kiss game you guys held were actually Setsuna-san's handiwork."

"Wh-What? Setsuna? She's magical, too?"

"Yeah. Actually, quite a few people are in on it. Asuna-san, Nodoka-san, Setsuna-san, Konoka-san, Yue-s...Are you ok?" Negi broke off, feeling the blonde trembling beneath his touch.

"You mean all of those people knew, but I didn't?" Ayaka yelled, jumping to her feet. She turned her eyes to Asakura, who took another picture. These would be great to look back on for a smile. "Did you know about this, too?"

"Hell yes, I did. Why do you think I arranged the kiss game, anyway? Well, besides the killing that was to be made in the betting..." Asakura put her camera away, lowering herself to sit on one of the many boxes, herself. She suddenly wasn't feeling so good.

"Wait! That means...Nodoka-san won that game, didn't she? Does that mean that she..."

"It does. Like you, she's one of my partners," Negi admitted with a little blush.

"One of...? Are there...more?" She asked, hoping not.

"Actually, Setsuna-san and Konoka-san are both my partners, too. Then, of course, there's Asuna-san. She was my first...Ayaka-san, are you ok?" He trailed off, the magical energy fuming from the girl caused him to jerk his hand back. Her hair was starting to lift up into the air, suspended by the dark energy pouring from the rep like a rain-heavy cloud.

"Asuna was your first...Asuna was...not me...that brute of a human...the red baka ranger...not me!" Ayaka jumped to her feet, making a dash for the stairs. She had disappeared to the floor below before Negi could stop her.

"Asakura-san, come on, we need to make sure she doesn't say anything she shouldn't in front of the others!" Negi made to follow after the rep, but Asakura didn't move. "What's wrong? Are you feeling alright?"

"A-Actually...I think...I'm g-getting sick..." Asakura mumbled, falling off of the box with a thud.

"Asakura-san!" Negi shouted, pulling the girl up to a sitting position in his arms. The coin Chamo had used to seal the girl away in began to jump around on the floor, a black aura emanating from it, along with a faint groan.

"Oh no...an incomplete seal? But with mine and Connor's magic together, Chamo should have been able to do a perfect seal!"

Asakura groaned softly, moving closer to Negi for his warmth. The boy could feel her temperature plummeting, her skin paling several shades.

"Asakura-san, hold on, I'll get us help," He stated, pulling the paparazzi girl up to carry her piggyback, "I'm not sure why things are going wrong, yet..." He scooped the fidgety coin up and slid it into his pocket, "But I'll definitely find out!"

-

"Sunshine! Hey!" Connor yelled out into the storm which surrounded him, though his voice fell to nothing under the beat of the rain. "I'm never gonna find her like this..."

"Think, Emo, think! Where would she go? Remember, Yuetchi is with her, too! Where would she want to go?" Chamo had to scream to be heard above the blankets of water which were falling over the two.

"She'd want to go to the library, right? But Sunshine wouldn't want to go there, at all...right?"

"Who knows? She might want to be alone, and who's gonna be at the library at this time of the night, in this weather? She definitely won't go back to the dorm, because that's where you have to go, too!"

"What about that dojo she goes to? Why not check there?"

"The library is closer, and Yuetchi would take her there! Just get moving!" Chamo snapped, biting Connor's shoulder.

The teacher stuffed the ermine down into his pocket, rushing off for the distant library island. "Why are you so worried about idiot black? She's with Sunshine, after all."

"I'm not just worried about her, Emo. One mage teacher's already been killed, Takamichi and Evangeline have both been incapacitated...I just don't want anyone close to aniki to be next."

"What if they've split up? I won't be able to save both of them if there are two separate attacks."

"You really are some kind of stupid, kid. They aren't gonna split up. Geez, how you pass for a teacher astounds me."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You just don't understand the ladies..."

-

Yue pushed the doors to the mammoth library closed, using a stool to reach up and fasten the massive deadbolt, quickly following it up by lighting several candles which she had stored in her desk. Ku Fei was sitting with her back to the desk Yue usually took care of her filing at. Both girls were drenched but neither cared much, at the moment.

Baka black dropped to a sitting position beside baka yellow, neither girls bothering to look at the other. They were both out of breath, it had been nearly a ten minute run through the rain, after all. Yue could hardly believe she had managed to keep up with her Chinese friend, but was somewhat confused as to why she had followed her at all. Sure, she was understandably upset, but running out into the storm to get away from Negi when...from Connor, to get away from Connor, that's why they ran. She followed Ku Fei because she shouldn't be alone after seeing something that upset her so much. That's why she had managed to keep up with the blonde, that's why she had even pulled ahead of her to lead her to library island, where they would both feel better. Well, at least Yue knew that she felt better, here.

Ku Fei was, at the same moment, trying to understand why she had run, herself. She'd seen the glow of magic, so she knew it wasn't just a normal kiss. It must have been one of those...but...why would he pick Asakura over her? If he wanted a partner, he could have just said so. She would have jumped at the opportunity to have been more than a student, or even a friend. Why couldn't he see that?

"Th-There were undoubtedly circumstances which we didn't know about. What we saw was simply the product of the situation we allowed ourselves to fall into," Yue broke the quiet, though just barely.

"...What you mean?"

"Chamo-san said something about sealing her in a coin...and seeing the actual partnering happen was a lot more colorful than anyone's described it. If...maybe they used the pactio to let loose magic into the air, which Chamo used to seal the girl away. Connor-sensei's hurt, so he couldn't use magic, and Negi-sensei's magic might not have been enough raw energy, on the spot. You saw him fall down right after, right? My bet is that they only did the pactios because they needed the magic right then. That's a good explanation..."

Ku Fei didn't really get most of what Yue had just pointed out, but she understood that she was trying to make her feel better. Not that it worked particularly well. Her friend could say anything she wanted, but it couldn't take back what she saw. Even if it was done out of need for magic, they both looked like they liked it too much for it to be something as simple as that. Connor chose her for his partner, when he could have just as easily picked Ayaka. If she had gone with Connor and Asakura instead, who would he have picked, then?

"They...get pretty into it," Ku Fei whispered half-heartedly. Talking any louder than that just yet would hurt her throat, which was pretty sore.

Now Yue had to really question herself. Did she honestly chase down Ku Fei to help the girl, or was she just running with her to get away from the scene she had witnessed? She had admitted to herself that Negi was only ten just an hour before seeing him kiss the rep. He definitely didn't look like he was ten, then. There was no way anyone could kiss like that without there being some kind of emotions behind the act, right? She already knew that Ayaka would kill for the teacher, and now with an artifact and magical enhancements, she was probably well capable of doing so. Whether Negi had real feelings for the rep or not could change very soon, for the better or for the worse...

"I know...they did..."

"Why you chase me? I be alright alone."

"I'm not sure. No, you're my friend, that's why I chased you. I wouldn't be much of a person if I left you to sort through your feelings alone, would I?"

"It probably better I do it alone..."

"...Maybe. But if you do want to talk, you can come to me."

Silence won over for the next couple of minutes as the two sat there, both wondering what they should do next. Heading back out into the storm would be stupid. Yue knew where a few beds could be found, so they could stay here for the night. Ku Fei knew she couldn't go back to her dorm room, because if the storm let up she would have to meet Connor, which she wasn't sure she was quite ready for, yet.

"I..."

Yue looked over at her friend.

"You think...I good enough for him?"

Yue's mouth opened a little, her eyes narrowing in thought, "Why would you ask me that? Why would you even have to ask?"

"Because he...I try tell him what I feel...but he ignore it. Why?" Ku Fei looked like she was really hurting over this, and that made Yue upset.

"Because he's...a teacher. That's why. He acts like he doesn't get what you want to say to him because it's inconvenient. But love isn't something that can be controlled. No one can help but feel what they do, and if you love him, then you love him. He ignores your feelings because...because he's an idiot." Yue knew that everything she just said applied to her situation with Negi, the good and the bad. She couldn't help what she felt for him, and she was a fool for thinking she could best her own emotions. What goes on in the minds of people is truly a complex problem.

"...You right. But if no one can help it, what if Connor...like Asakura? That mean I have no chance?" Ku Fei asked, her voice growing a little louder. Having Yue rationalize everything somehow made that everything all the easier to bear.

"No, that's not how it works. Even if he does have those kinds of feelings for Asakura, which we can't know for sure, there's no way to tell how serious he is about it. Does he understand anything about love? Inside, does he want to, right now? We just can't tell. But if you let him know how you feel, and are there for him when he needs you, even for the small things, you'd be surprised at how he may begin to see you." Yue knew that if she replaced the instances of Connor with Negi, and the instances of Asakura with Nodoka, she'd be giving herself a pep talk.

"If I his partner, I be there for everything. I show him I better than Asakura, and then he pick me!"

"No, it doesn't work like that, either," Yue mumbled, shaking her head a little, "You can't make it about being 'better' than Asakura. You won't be able to stay friends with her, if you do. No one will be happy at the end of things if they get there through bad times and broken ties."

"But you have work hard to get anything worth getting. Sometimes...lose something, but get something better."

"...Maybe...But I don't want to lose..."

"Lose what? I thought we talking about me!"

"I-I mean...sorry, I'm just tired..." Yue stated, flashing Ku Fei one of her small, rarely seen smiles.

"You mean Negi-bozu? That why you run with me?"

"N-No! Of...of course not! Nodoka already..."

"Bookstore girl! That right, she your friend! So you like Negi-bozu, too? Suck to be you, Yue-dono," Ku Fei admitted with a light smile. So maybe Yue really could sympathize with what she was feeling. She had the same problem, only to greater extremes.

With a sigh, Yue let her chin sink to meet her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs. So even Ku Fei could tell...granted she had picked up on it because of the slip of her tongue, but still. "Is it selfish of me...to want to stay Nodoka's friend, and pursue Negi-sensei as more than a friend?"

"I say that sometimes have to lose something, but get something better. Not always. Who know? Maybe bookstore girl not like Negi-bozu one day."

Yue didn't see that as likely, but Ku Fei was trying to make her feel better so she simply nodded.

"You ever want talk, you come see me, too. I help," Ku Fei slapped Yue on the back with a big smile, her own troubles apparently an issue of the past.

"That's my girl! Way to come through for a friend," Connor clapped slowly as he showed himself, completely soaked by the rain.

Ku Fei's smile disappeared faster than a cake at a kid's birthday party.

Yue cast a glance over at the door. Still shut, and the candlelight was enough that she could see it was still locked. Connor was too reluctant to use magic while his wound had yet to completely heal, so he hadn't gotten in like that. What a sneaky person.

"C-Connor-sensei..." Ku Fei stuttered, standing up, her eyes moving like she was looking for a place she could escape to, "How you find us?"

"Followed my heart, love," Connor replied casually, letting the sensei bit slide, "There's something I need to talk to you about."

"I see enough...to know what you going to say."

"D-Did you, now? Well...whatever it was you saw, exactly, that's not what I'd like to talk to you about." Connor, in a single, smooth motion, swept across the distance between them, and had Ku Fei in his arms. Yue felt her face light up. No doubt Ku Fei's was scarlet. It looked like he was going to ravage her, right then and there.

"Ku-chan, I...love you," He whispered, leaning in to the paralyzed Chinese girl.

-

'_The only explanation is that the magic wasn't pure...but that means that Connor's a...a dark mage? Evangeline uses black magic, I know, but I didn't realize that Connor did, too. That means he has access to spells and powers that honest mages wouldn't touch. But would he tap into those kinds of powers? They come at a price, most of the time, and that price can be pretty steep. What must he have given up to be able to use the dark arts?'_

Negi's mind wandered as he carried Asakura through the dark halls in search of the others. He wished Ayaka hadn't left him to find his own way back. The coin bouncing around like mad inside his pocket told him that the sealing technique hadn't completely failed, but as it continued to groan and call for release, he began to wonder just how complete it was.

'_When we released our energies during the pactio, Connor must have let out his dark magic, as well. Since Asakura-san was so close to him, and actually had a part in the pactio, the dark energy had to channel itself through her, as well. But she's a good person, so the magic is having an adverse affect on her, making her sick. Her soul...rejects it, in a sense. But Connor...he's a good person, too, so why doesn't the magic hurt him? The only way that he could get by alright would be if he...did something terrible, to be able to hold it. I'll have to ask him about it, myself.'_

"Negi-bozu," Kaede's voice startled the boy so bad he nearly toppled over.

"Kaede-san! Whoa, I forgot all about you! You just sort of...vanished."

"I had to make sure the others were alright after we sealed the girl. Is Asakura alright?"

"Oh! No, she isn't! The pactio with Connor is making her sick, because Connor uses black magic, and Asakura-san's body is rejecting it! We need to get her some serious help, soon, or..."

"Or what?"

-

"There, I see it!" Connor shouted, pointing to the huge doors to the library as he rushed through the night storm.

"Do you feel that, Emo? There's something bad in there..."

"Then I'd better be serious about this," Connor groaned, pulling the magic from his wound. The sudden fresh pangs of pain nearly tripped him up, but he kept his balance, refusing to slow down. He wasn't about to let anything happen to those two because of his weakness. "Forget that!" He shouted, swinging his boot into the door.

Connor and Ku Fei dropped to the ground as the door to the library busted off of its hinges, flying at them with alarming speed. Yue stared at her teacher as he stepped in from the rain, Chamo on his shoulder. She then looked to the spot where Ku Fei and Connor were supposed to be, surprised to find two Ku Feis, who both seemed genuinely stunned to see the other.

They both hopped up, pointing at each other, "Why there another me?" They both exclaimed, quickly looking over at Connor for an answer.

"Great. I can't tell them apart," Connor admitted, looking from one Sunshine to the next.

He looked up as he heard shuffling noises, not surprised to find the men in masks falling from the ceiling. The Ku Feis, Yue, and Connor all found themselves surrounded within the span of a second.

"C-Connor-sensei, what's going on?" Yue asked, scanning the situation but coming up with nothing.

"Don't call me sensei, sweety," Connor said, sliding his pen out of his coat.

_-----Author's other, other note: I hope that wasn't too confusing for anyone, though I'm pretty sure it wasn't. I'm trying to keep things relatively simple so I can keep up with them, as well. Two quick comments: 1. I didn't have Negi use Ayaka's (or another partner of his) card to teleport them to him because it didn't fit in with what I was doing at the time, and 2. I know the black magic + pactio with good person oh, crap, isn't real in the Negima! World, but I've used it, now, so no regrets._

_Now, I've got a couple of things to apologize for: 1. Sorry it took me so long to update. I'd have been pissed if I were a reader... 2. Sorry again to the people who read my note before the chapter and were like, 'Yes! Sex!'. 3. I don't like this one, but I don't know when my next update is going to be. I'm now back in the swing of school, and the time I took off of work for my dad's surgery is over, so I'm back at work, as well. I'm sorry to those who like having updates every few days, because I will fail you, shortly. Ugh...feel...so...sucky...for leaving off on a cliffhanger that I don't even know when I'll conclude._

_I had options, too. I strongly considered not having the doppelganger show up, and instead have the real Connor show up and make up with Ku Fei. It would have gone something like..._

_Connor: (Insert cool guy line, but hold back any serious meaning to them, because he can't make up his mind on who he likes) (insert interchangeable name such as Sunshine, sweety, love, or something like that)_

_Ku Fei: (Insert something cute, probably with some stammering)_

_Connor: (Insert forced laugh, followed by the placing of his hands on her shoulders)_

_Ku Fei: (Insert blush)_

_Yue: (Act like things are cute and leave to give them a little privacy, while she's really going to vomit)_

_Connor: (Whisper something as he leans in)_

_Ku Fei: (Whisper something back)_

_Connor and Ku Fei: (Insert long, romantic kiss described in sensuous detail that I haven't taken the time to think up, yet)_

_Connor: (Says something about how he kissed Asakura because he had to, but he kissed Ku Fei because he wanted to)_

_It would have been something like that, but I can hardly ever pick the happy route (For the emotional people out there, you may as well stop reading because I'm not planning a happy ending. That, for the first time, is not a joke. If some people out there would like, though, I could maybe write two endings, one happy, one not. I'm considering the idea). That's why I made Asakura sick, and why I made Connor have dark magic which keeps him from forming a pactio with a 'good' person. So after Asakura dies, he can take a one way trip down guilt lane which leads him to commit several horrible deeds which I will not disclose to the readers. After Ku Fei dies in an attempt to stop him, Negi and Connor face off in an apocalyptic battle, resulting in Connor's death, and Negi on the verge of dying. Negi gives the Cassiopeia (which he will get from Chao) to Kotaro, sending him back in time to before Asakura's death so that he can prevent the pactio from ever happening. Yay! Now no one needs to worry about the possibility of really slow updates, because I just gave you the next few chapters! DON'T WORRY, THAT WAS JUST A JOKE. I just thought of all of that in like, thirty seconds. Sounds like it would be fun, but it wouldn't really handle any of the issues concerning the actual plot. This note is so long, because I might not have anything to post for a while, and it's just to give you guys something to think about . But I'd still appreciate any reviews that come up, and if anyone has any suggestions to help speed along the thought process, I'd be grateful to hear you out via PM (for you less vocal readers) or in a review. I wonder if the notes in this were longer than the actual chapter? Well, let me know what you'd like to happen next, if you want a happy/sad/both endings, which character I should have die first (yeah, people are gonna be dead by the time I wrap this up. I haven't gotten any flames yet, but I can guarantee I'll have pissed some people off pretty royally by the time I write the last chapter.), or anything else. Reader participation rocks. Thanks for reading...-----_


	13. Multiple Personalities

_-----Author's note: Bad for my wallet but good for my writing, I was only scheduled for two days at work this week (I work at a restaurant, Texas Roadhouse, which I dislike, so my schedule can vary wildly)! Which means I was able to get out a chapter sooner than I thought. Still, though, updates may vary from a few days to over a week, so nobody let their hopes get too high. I do not own Negima, but any other characters and ideas are my own. Enjoy...-----_

"I don't suppose you're going to be any help, here, huh, rat?" Connor whispered to the ermine stuffed into his pocket, his eyes wandering from mask to mask as his enemies surrounded him. How the hell was he supposed to come through, like this? He had two Sunshines standing in front of him, and he had no idea which one was the real one. The imposter could very well be dangerous, especially if what Negi had told him was any little bit true. Connor, himself, knew that he couldn't beat Setsuna very easily, if at all. But she had been thrashed, according to her account of what had actually gone down. She winced every time he took out a pen to write...To top things off, he had the helpless baka black to keep an eye on. She was just as much a target as Ku Fei, only unable to defend herself.

"We damn well can't have you beating the pulp out of the real Ku Fei! Find out which one's the real one, but be cautious about it. If you set these guys off, we might not be able to save Yuetchi!" Chamo whisper-yelled in response.

'_Easier said than done...but...' _Connor tipped his head to the two Chinese girls, letting a smile play onto his lips, "I can honestly say, the enemy never looked so good. I thought one Sunshine was blessing enough in my life, but two? To tell you the truth..." He was laughing inside at how both Ku Feis were sporting a deep blush. Looked like what Negi had said about the shape shifter taking on the emotions of the copied person was true, "I'm kind of wondering which one would be more fun...the good one, or the _bad_ one..." He licked his lips a little, well satisfied by the stunned expression on both girl's faces.

'_He's...disgusting, but a quick thinker. He should be able to pick out the real one, if he keeps talking like that!' _Yue thought, keeping as still as possible to keep attention off of her. As much as she hated it, she was caught in the middle of something bigger than she knew, and right now she was a prime candidate for a hostage.

"B-Bad one? Wh-What you want me be bad f-for?" The Ku Feis stuttered. It was almost disturbing how their voices intermingled into perfect synchronization. Whatever kind of magic the imposter had, it was as strong as hell.

"Honestly, Sunshines, I've always liked my girls to be a little naughty. But not if they start off that way. A little corruption does wonders for my mood," Connor smirked, trying to keep it playful. He was surrounded by enemies, and in a weakened state. Chamo might be able to pull off a miracle if he had enough time to do so, so time was what he was really playing for.

"N-Naughty?" The girls looked like they were about to pass out. It was creepy to see the schoolgirl-love-sparkle in both sets of eyes, knowing that one of them might be a man. Ugh...he hoped it was a woman underneath the disguises...

"Remember when you had me on your bed with you, Sunshines? I say that I like my girls naughty, but that doesn't even begin to cover what I was thinking..." He slowly stepped forward, letting his eyes glow with the feigned passion he knew he could use so well. Something about playing on a lady's heart lit a light up inside of him, as cruel as it was. At least it was serving a purpose, this time. He ignored the slight pangs of guilt as bits of his past caught up with him.

Yue's mouth fell slightly open, her eyes more open than she was used to them being. _'On her bed? Well...that's a bit more than I would have ventured to guess at. But...that look in his eyes, it's so serious! He's kidding, right? There's no way he could be serious about what he's saying, right? I didn't misjudge his actions, I couldn't have. This is a serious situation, he wouldn't try and turn it into some kind of magical three-way...'_

"But right now I'm thinking a bit of a magical three-way is just what we need to liven things up some," The teacher admitted with a little wink, to Yue's chagrin, "What do you say?"

One of the Ku Feis jumped back, shaking her head and muttering. Shortly following a puff of smoke, Connor found that he was staring at a perfect copy of himself. The copy seemed to be trying to shake thoughts out of his head, cursing and swearing all the while.

"That was horrible! I can't believe that I almost...God, thank God I changed," The fake teacher pointed at Ku Fei, whose face had yet to return to its normal color, "I thought Connor was bad, but damn, you're disgusting! I can't even believe we even thought that..."

Connor shot the real Ku Fei a quizzical look, but allowed the subject to fade out of the spotlight. That would be a topic to discuss, later. Chamo had already set off to complete his mission, so all Connor needed to do was hold out for about twenty minutes. After that, he'd let it be someone else's problem. "I've gotta admit, I thought two Sunshines was nice, but damn!"

"Yeah, I know. It's kind of weird how I'm more attracted to you than I am any of the girls," The fake muttered, putting his chin in his hand, his face turning thoughtful, "You don't think that means we're...you know..."

"No, no. We can just appreciate true beauty, that's all. Not that you're not gorgeous, Sunshine, I'm not implying that."

"No, not at all! You're actually one of the hottest junior high girls I've ever seen," The fake added with a charming smile that sent Ku Fei's heart aflutter. He really sounded like he meant it, fake or not.

"He speaks the truth, Sunshine. One hundred percent. I actually discovered a way to bring about world peace, too."

"Oh, you did too?" The fake laughed.

The two both spoke now, "We just need to show everyone in the world your picture. There would be no more war if they could just see your smiling face, love."

Yue was dumbfounded. What the hell was going on? He knew who the real enemy was, now, so why was he wasting time on idle chit-chat? He had come alone, so...wait, had he come alone? He couldn't be as big of an idiot as he would have people believe him to be...he was definitely stalling. So he had a plan, even as ridiculous as it was, if it would get them out of there she wouldn't complain. It was weird how the fake was going along with it so well, though...

"Y-You exaggerating..." Ku Fei blushed, not sure herself what was happening. She'd never been assaulted with compliments like this, before, and having it done by her crush and an identical copy of her crush was enough to knock her out cold. She was hardly aware of the enemies which filled up the room.

"No, not exaggerating, Sunshine," The fake grinned, "If you were cholesterol, I'd gladly die of a compound heart attack just so long as I got a taste of you."

Connor laughed, nodding in agreement, "That would be a way to go, huh? I'd die a happy man. 'Course, not before I made you pretty happy, too...if you get what I'm saying..."

"Oh, that's bad, man," The fake couldn't help but laugh as he strode over to meet his twin. The two knocked fists, each putting an arm around the other as they turned to face the barely able to stand Ku Fei, whose nose was getting dangerously close to spouting a red leak.

"You ain't all that bad, you know that?"

"You're not half bad yourself, man. Tell you what, I'll just let you guys dance on out of here, this time," The fake said with a smile, motioning for the door with his free arm.

"Boss!" One of the cloaked men shouted, which seemed to snap the copycat out of his character.

The fake jumped back for the second time, looking a lot like a kid who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Ugh, dammit...I've used this one too much in too short a time...as hot as I may be like this, I can't do my job this way!" Another puff of smoke issued from the clone, this time, though, a less friendly face stepped out from the cloud.

Yue's eyes widened as she saw who stepped through the smoke. There was no way...it couldn't possibly be...even an impersonation of that person could destroy the whole of library island in the blink of an eye!

"You...look like..." Ku Fei muttered, staring into the person's dark brown eyes.

Connor's mouth dropped open as he took a shaky step backwards, "Oh, shi-"

-

The storm raged outside of the mansion, the thunder making the panes shake softly. Kaede lowered Asakura onto Ayaka's bed, looking the pale girl up and down. She was beginning to shiver in steady pulses, as though a kind of bitter frost was running through her veins. She had yet to speak since the kunoichi had taken her from Negi, who had dashed off to find help. Was there anyone nearby who they could count on, for the kind of treatment that Asakura apparently needed? Someone came to mind, but she was pretty inexperienced...

-

Negi skid to a stop beside his three friends, Asuna, Setsuna, and Konoka, who all seemed somewhat surprised to see him.

"Negi-sensei, there you are," Setsuna greeted him with a smile, "After the rep got back, we figured you'd be soon to follow."

Asuna slid across the ground, coming to a stop at the young teacher's feet. Ayaka was on top of her before she even had time to open her eyes.

"They've been at it for the past five minutes. I'm not even sure what got this one started," Konoka admitted through a smile. Though her best friend and the rep were fighting, she didn't seem phased by it at all, no matter how serious it got.

"Konoka-san, I need your help!" Negi whisper-yelled, grabbing his student's arm and pulling her to her feet.

As if Negi had pulled her simultaneously, Setsuna rose as well, "What's the matter? Is someone hurt?"

"Come on, I'll explain it on the way!" The boy said, leading the two to the rep's room. Ayaka and Asuna didn't even notice him come or go.

-

"So she formed the pactio with Connor, but his bad magic won't mix with her?" Konoka asked, attempting to capture everything she had been told in a nutshell. Negi, Kaede, Setsuna, and herself were standing before the large bed, their friend shaking in a cold sweat.

"Have you contacted the headmaster? He'll be able to do far more than Ojou-sama..." Setsuna asked softly.

"Yeah, grandpa could save her, call him!"

Negi showed them his cell phone, pointing at the 'no signal' message displayed in the corner, "I've already tried! The storm is getting in the way of the signal! Konoka-san, you saved me, and Setsuna-san, during the field trip, and I know you can save Asakura-san! You've gotta try!"

She looked anxious, but Kaede could see in her eyes that there was a good portion of will to try. A friend was on the line, and she had been practicing. Granted, none of what she'd done thus far could compare with saving the life of a friend, but at the very least she was better off than when she had saved Negi.

"Ok, Negi-kun. What should I do?"

Chamo, moving at a speed even he wasn't used to, slammed into Negi's back, causing the boy to take a step forward in surprise. "Aniki! A-Aniki, gotta...go t-to library...island..." He gasped for breath, now realizing that maybe smoking really DID have an affect on one's health.

"What? Why?" Negi asked, setting the ermine down on the edge of the bed.

"Emo...found Ku Fei and Yuetchi! They're being attacked by the copycat and a bunch of the masked guys!" Chamo paused when he felt a slight vibration under the covers, turning to find his sickly comrade behind him. "What's the matter with sister?"

Negi dropped the fidgety coin containing the ghost of the East Wing, turning to run for the door. "Help Konoka-san save Asakura-san, Chamo-kun! Don't let the ghost out of the coin, either!" Before Negi had even reached the door, Setsuna and Kaede were already waiting for him in the hall.

"Set-chan, wait! Don't leave me to do this alone!" Konoka called after her friend, who hesitated.

"Stay here, Setsuna," Kaede commanded, "If we all leave and there's an attack while we're gone, what would happen to them? We'll be back soon."

Reluctant to pass up a chance for a second round with the copycat, but seeing the wisdom in her friend's words. "Even if I can't go, there's at least one thing I can do for you..." She reached into her pocket, handing something to Negi before reentering the rep's room.

Negi and Kaede hurried down the hall, vanishing around the corner.

"She's...having a reaction to his magic? That doesn't make sense! Even the most polar opposites of good and evil can coexist! Hell, without one, you can't even have the other!" Chamo exclaimed, using the covers to wipe away the dampness of Asakura's forehead. "Sure, some people get sick for a little while because they're incompatible, but not this bad..."

"Then what is it?" Konoka asked, getting worried. Even Chamo seemed shaken by this turn of events, and having to be the one to save Asakura was a lot for her to shoulder.

"When Connor was pulled through the portal, it was big news in the magic world. We'd never actually succeeded in making contact with another world, and pulling a person from one was incredible! She might be having a reaction because people in our world just can't hold the other world's magic," The ermine tried to explain, though he only seemed to bring about more confusion.

"Wh-What? Another world? Are you saying Connor-sensei isn't from...here?"

"I thought you knew, but, yeah. He can probably only speak our languages because of his magic, too. I...don't know how we're going to save her..."

Konoka shook her head in defiance, "No! Don't talk like that! I'm going to save her, no matter what! So just watch!"

-

The storm clouds above the island broke apart, the foundation of the library itself groaned under the presence within. The water cascading from the roof of the massive structure slowed its fall, pulled back up to the air it had fallen from. The ground dried up as the water was dragged up into the atmosphere, the droplets circling the island in a massive display of power, the starlight reflecting off of them like they were diamonds.

The entire face of the library shattered, a blast of light roared through it and up into the sky, winding like a snake through grass. The air over the desecrated library became distorted as the beam of light passed by.

"Connor!" Ku Fei screamed, making a rush for the gaping hole that was once the entrance to the library. She didn't get far, however, before she was swarmed by the men in masks.

The man with the scarlet hair took his sweet time in stepping over the debris and out into the night, where his prey was currently sprawled out in. He let himself smile at the Chinese girl as she was steadily pummeling her way through the seemingly endless cluster of enemies. There wasn't anything she could do to help Connor, at this point, if he was even still alive.

He took a deep breath of the now dry night air, looking up at the glistening stars and raising his hands to them. They were so far away, but he felt like he could touch them, if he had the mind to. "Asuna...used to love those things. Guess a little bit of that rubbed off on me, too," He admitted with a smirk. The smile faded as he heard a grunt from the man in black, as he rose to his feet.

"You...You know that girl? Ha..." Connor bent over to put his hands on his knees, trying to ignore the smoke that was rising from his slightly burnt coat. His magical barrier had been completely shattered by that last attack. If he was hit like that again, there wouldn't be enough of him left to fill a cup. "Does your kid know?"

"Negi's a smart kid. After all, he is mine," The thousand master replied casually, folding his arms.

"Heh, smart enough to think you've been alive for the past God knows how long..."

"Everyone needs something to hold on to, something they need to believe in. One day, he'll find out I'm dead, or he'll find out I'm alive, for certain. Honestly, I don't really know, and I'm a pretty good copy of him."

"I liked you better when you were trying to sell yourself as me."

"No one could afford the price you would set, kid."

"While we're on the topic of 'kids', Negi's gonna be mighty pissed when he sees you," Connor pointed out, standing up to his full height and taking a deep breath.

"Sons can be surprisingly forgiving. I've missed most of his life...something I wish I could change...but I don't think you know him well enough to say something like that," Nagi spoke in a bored tone, as though whatever it was that was going on didn't quite excite him.

A rain of shiny arrows fell down over the thousand master, who raised a hand to shield himself from the surprise attack. The ground beneath him crumbled under the onslaught, the cloud of magic and dust obscuring the man from sight. Negi dropped from the sky, his staff in hand as he concluded his attack.

"I meant he'd be pissed at you for taking that form, dumb-ass," Connor sighed, trying hard to keep his strength up.

"Are you alright? Where are the others?" The boy asked, his eyes scanning the area for the two targets.

"They're in the library...kid, I don't think this is a fight we can win. We should..."

"'Should' what? We can't run and leave them here alone!" Negi yelled, raising his hand to meet the silhouette of his father in the smoke. A second volley of magic exploded forth, cutting through the air as it whistled towards its target.

Ku Fei ducked under a knife, grabbing the arm as she came back up. She spun with the man, pulling back to plunge the knife into his stomach as she threw him aside. Too surrounded to avoid the next attacker, she was caught by a punch to the cheek, which she returned with a two-palmed strike to the chest, sending the man crashing to the ground. She brought her fist up into one of the myriad men's stomachs, hopping up onto his back as he lurched over. She jumped up over a towering bookcase, flipping to kick it on the opposite side as she came down. The case toppled over the group of men she had been preoccupied with, but she was quickly surrounded once again.

Yue turned a corner, finding nothing but another group of men. Behind her, the five people who had been chasing her slowed to a stop, each raising their hands to finish the job. Chasing her through the halls of books had proved enjoyable for the brief time it had lasted, but now it was time to move on. Yue ducked down, covering her face with her hands as she waited for the inevitable. It was odd. Philosophers ponder the mysteries of mankind, great and small, and what lay beyond death was indeed one of, if not the greatest, mysteries of all. Now that she was faced with the prospect, though, she was terrified. There was a lot she hadn't gotten to do yet, a lot she still wanted to say. It was cruel that things were going to end this way, so soon.

"Are you alright, Yue-dono? Come on, let's get you out of here," Kaede's voice permeated the temporary quiet.

Yue opened her eyes, finding that the men who had come quite close to ending her life were now strewn across the floor, several kunai to be found protruding from them in various places. She tried to stand, but found her legs to be a little too shaky to support the action. Kaede scooped her up, vanishing in a flash of smoke.

Negi's attack dissolved before the thousand master, who dashed forward. Connor pushed the boy aside, raising his hand for his turn. The ground before him tore open, attempting to swallow the copycat up. The man plummeted into the darkness, vanishing into the depths below.

"Come on..." Connor groaned, raising his other hand to complete the attack. Fire erupted from the gap, pouring into the air before the two sides smashed together, the ground looking as though nothing had ever happened at all. He fell back to a sitting position, the pain in his back too much for him to push through. Dammit, next time he got hurt he was going to get more help.

"A good effort, but it was more for show, than anything else," Nagi spoke from behind the two.

Negi whipped around at the sound of the voice, but was too slow to stop the wave of energy that erupted from his imitation father's hand. The two were lost in the blinding flash, the ground below them shaved away in fragments, leaving the two teachers on the tattered ground, unable to move.

Nagi looked from the one in the black coat to his would-be son, realizing he didn't have the heart to kill either of them. At least, not in this form. "Well..." He murmured, "What would be ironic? Someone you love, definitely..."

A puff of smoke ensued, followed shortly after by the appearance of Evangeline, who looked herself over in a rather satisfied manner. "This should do, don't you think, boya?" She slowly made her way for the immobilized boy, her only response a light groaning.

She scooped Negi up by the hair, lifting him into the air to look him in the face. Really, that meant the boy's feet were still grazing the ground. "I could do it slow, and just suck out your blood, or I can do it fast, and get the blood after. Any preferences?"

Negi's eye opened slightly, his mouth curling into a sneer.

Evangeline stared into the partially opened eye, unable to believe that he had the gall to smile at a time like this.

"M-Mission...accomplished," The boy mumbled through his grin.

Ku Fei rushed out through the destroyed face of the library, faltering when she saw Negi being held up by Evangeline, who didn't look like she was in a playing mood. The man who looked like Negi was nowhere to be found, so she assumed it was the copycat. Connor was on the ground, a few yards away from the two, apparently down for the count.

"Negi-bozu!" She yelled, rushing to the boy's aid.

"'Accomplish' this!" Evangeline yelled spitefully, lobbing the limp boy into the air. She swung her arm up, muttering the words to her spell under her breath. An icicle rivaling Evangeline for size sped through the air, plunging into the boy's chest.

Before he had even hit the ground, Evangeline turned her attention to Ku Fei, who had frozen as soon as the magic touched the boy. "One target down...guess that makes you next."

_-----Author's other note: Don't think Evangeline would do it? To be fair, it IS just a copy, AND she does want his blood, AND she is evil, so when people start the flames please be sure to not use her as the reason. I already know where I'm going, so I'm working on the next chapter quickly while my schedule is being nice._

_But I have a question: How much further should I go? At the plot rate I'm going at now, I will finish at about chapter 17 or 18, most likely. Then I'll have the alternate ending, if you want to count that. Does that sound good? I'm not sure, because most of my writing tends to drag on forever. I don't want to do that here, because it just spoils it, in the end. But if I do finish it, I guess I could just start a new fanfic, too. Ugh...well, just...I don't know, tell me what to do. I'm pretty indecisive._

_Anyway, thanks for reading...-----_


	14. Perfection

_-----Author's note: In the previous chapter, I made a mistake! Oh my God, I seriously did. It's probably not noticeable to most people, but this chapter would probably bring up the question: Where'd Kaede and Yue go? In the last chapter, after Kaede rescues Yue, I forgot to mention that Kaede was going to take Yue back to the mansion, where she would stay and protect the rest of the students with Setsuna. She would have said something like: "This is Negi-bozu's battle. I don't plan on getting in the way..." Or something like that. Oh, man, I feel incompetent. Oh well, hopefully that doesn't spoil it for anyone! I do not own Negima, but any other characters and ideas are my own. Enjoy...-----_

With the absence of the 'thousand master', the rain had halted its halo around the island, coming down in a rush as the clouds reformed over the library. The rain picked back up, but it couldn't rival the ferocity of the storm, earlier. In her dark, stormy surroundings, Ku Fei could barely make out the falling boy, and didn't seem to notice Evangeline approaching her.

Negi couldn't die! Even the simple thought ringing in her head sounded nothing short of ridiculous. He had always been so strong, so smart, kind...there was no way he'd be killed, he wouldn't let it happen. He'd have figured out a way to stop it, right? Who could hurt such a perfect kid? Even Evangeline, who would publicly swear that she hated him, would never hurt him like that! Ku Fei growled, turning angry eyes at the slowly approaching figure of the copycat.

"You monster!" She yelled, rushing to knock the fake's head clean off.

The icicle slammed into the ground behind Evangeline, who glanced over her shoulder to take a quick look at her handiwork before polishing off blondy. Her light smirk vanished when she found the chunk of ice to be by itself, no victim attached. No blood, either? Her eyes, accustomed to the dark, spied a scrap of paper matted to the ground by the rain. "A fake?" She yelled, turning scarlet.

Ku Fei could feel the energy burning inside of her, pulsing through her like her boiling blood. Chi was always like that, but it was overflowing, now, and she was ready to use it. The water around her burst into steam as she threw her fist forward, shattering Evangeline's shield and cracking her cheekbone. Stupid fake should have been paying more attention.

Evangeline's stunned and limp body would have been hurled away after the impact, but Ku Fei was far from done and didn't allow it. Using her other hand, she caught her opponent by the ankle before she got out of reach, sliding with her a couple of feet before spinning her around. Once she could feel the tug of the swing threatening her grip, she released the girl. The paralyzed copycat sped up and into the library, smashing through bookcases as she went.

Still fueled by the excess flow of Chi and rage, Ku Fei tapped into the well and performed the instant movement technique, flickering into sight in the darkness of the library. Perched on one of the bookcases, she continued to focus her energy. She could see around her for the faint blueish glow she was emanating. Spinning full around, with one leg swinging up, she brought her heel down into the copycat's face as she burst through a bookcase and came into range.

Evangeline would have made her own personal crater in the ground had she been allowed to make contact with it. She didn't receive this luxury, however, as Ku Fei performed the instant movement a second time, appearing below the vampire with only enough time to thrust her fist up into her opponent's back.

Evangeline arched up backwards in midair, shocked to find a little blood spurt from her mouth as she did. This was bad...she didn't have enough time to change into someone who could put an end to this game. How the hell was she getting destroyed so mercilessly? Her shield had given out with a single attack!

The Chinese girl jumped up, spinning to kick her helpless prey in the chest. Evangeline skimmed the ground, eventually sliding to a stop out on the wet concrete. She attempted to get up, but found that she was quite unable to. Her face was throbbing from the first attack, and she was certain she had more than one broken bone. Ku Fei had halted her attack, whether out of pity or exhaustion, the copycat couldn't tell.

"Rastel maskil magister..." A familiar voice echoed through the storm from up above.

Evangeline groaned, trying to get away. The most she could muster was to crawl, however.

Ku Fei watched her teacher up in the stormy sky, hanging onto his staff with the one hand as he gathered a fierce light in his second. How had he managed to survive the icicle? Seeing him alive somehow seemed to sap the energy from her, bringing her back down to her normal self.

"Veniant spiritus aeriales fulgurientes! Cum fulgurationi flet tempestas austrina!" Negi's hand felt like it was on fire, but this was the heaviest spell he had, and he knew when it was time to use it. _'This might not have worked against the monster from Kyoto, so who's to say it can defeat you? ...Then again, you're only a copy,' _He thought, swinging his hand out towards his target, he shouted, "Jovis tempestas fulguriens!"

Thunder boomed through the night, Ku Fei losing her balance as the ground below her rumbled with the attack as it broke through the darkness. She marveled at the sky as, like for his father, even fake, the clouds parted for the son, as well. The beam of light roared over Evangeline, burying her deep into the ground as it carved out a path through the island.

Once the attack had subsided, Negi dropped the distance to the ground, landing softly thanks to the tug of his staff. Ku Fei rushed over to him, throwing her arms around him with a happy laugh, "I thought you die, Negi-bozu! How you ok?"

"I have Setsuna-san to thank for that," Negi admitted, easing back from his student. He hopped down into the hole in the island, sliding down to the motionless body of the copycat. Ku Fei, now that she had taken care of business in a manner even she wasn't entirely sure she was capable of, hurried over to Connor, who still lay on the ground in silence.

"_Even if I can't go, there's at least one thing I can do for you..." Setsuna reached into her pocket, handing Negi a helpful tool he was certainly familiar with, by this time. She gave him a slight nod, stepping back into the rep's room._

_Kaede and Negi made their way down the hall, turning the corner before Kaede spoke, "What is it?"_

"_One of those papers for a clone. Setsuna-san calls them 'onmyou gods'. You're familiar, right?"_

"_That I am. Got any plans for it?"_

"_I've never seen the copycat fight, to be honest. Setsuna-san said that she was defeated pretty bad, but Connor isn't stronger than her, I can feel it," Kaede nodded her agreement, but remained silent, "I think that the copycat's powers are flawed, at least more than he knows they are. I'll use this to find out...while you help Yue-san and Ku Fei-san."_

"_I'm more worried about Yue-dono. Ku Fei can handle herself just fine. Negi-bozu, you need to be careful about Connor, too. He's already at a disadvantage, and he might need the real you to back him up."_

"_I won't let anything happen to him. I just need to see for myself...what this fake can do..."_

Negi pulled the groaning Evangeline up into the drizzling rain, laying her out on the ground. Ku Fei had pulled Connor over to them, and he was currently resting on her lap.

"Time to talk," Negi commanded the moaning girl sternly. He felt bad at seeing Evangeline in such a pitiful state, but he knew it wasn't really her. If he kept reminding himself of that, he'd be alright.

"How..." The fake replied weakly, "Did I...lose? My magic is...perfect..."

"Nothing's perfect," Negi replied softly, "Especially not your tactics. After watching you fight with Connor and my copy, I knew for sure you weren't as untouchable as you thought."

"Ha...and how's that?"

"Not only do you have to cope with the emotions of the person you're posing as, you don't really gain all of their power. No matter who you choose to be, you can't exceed the physical or magical limits your real body has. You're stronger than Connor and Setsuna-san, which is why when you took his form you were able to defeat her so easily. That's something Connor probably couldn't do at all. When you were pretending to be my father..." He paused a second to remember the face, "that first attack should have killed Connor, but it didn't, because your magical strength can't compare with the thousand master's. Ku Fei-san was able to break Evangeline's shield because you just can't measure up to her real abilities. Your copying technique is your greatest strength, but also your greatest weakness."

"Boya...get me some ice..." Was the feeble reply he got. He would have sworn he saw a ghost of a smile flicker across her face.

"Beaten up bad guys don't get to make the calls. You're going to tell me what I need to know about the voice, now."

"Or what? You gonna kill me, boya? ...I'd like to see you try." Evangeline was careful to open her mouth as little as possible, the pain in her jaw much more than she had experienced in quite a long while.

"No, I won't kill you. If I become a murderer...than I'm no different from you, or the people you work for, or whoever else. You're going to tell me because no matter who you choose to be, that's what they'll want."

"I don't have to be someone you know...don't think I'm so useless..." Evangeline mumbled, trying to move to rub her forehead, but her arm was limp and useless.

"No, it wouldn't matter even if you were a complete stranger. No one wants to live in fear...no one. That's what the dream is causing, all over the magic world. People have died because of the things you do...and no one knows why. What did we ever do to you?" Negi asked, trying hard to hide any emotions he may be feeling. He was angry, confused, sad, and whatever emotion that came from having too many emotions. He was proud at having defeated the copycat, but what did it get him but the sight of seeing someone he cared about beaten bloody?

"...Nothing..."

"Then why? What point is there in terrorizing us?"

"...It's all for her...boya...we do it because that's what she needs us to do. To save her..." Evangeline whispered.

"S-Save who? Who is 'she'?"

"Our savior...our messiah...she comes from a higher realm to deliver us from this world...to save us..." Evangeline's face took on an odd pleasant feature, as though simply speaking about this person carried her troubles far away. Her face got real serious as she turned to look into the boy's eyes, "Not that...I need her to, boya..."

"How can you say that? Savior? She has you attacking innocent people, killing them! What for?" Negi nearly shouted.

"Because she needs them...their power...we kill them, liberating their energy, so that she can harness their lives and stay with us...Without the energy from the targeted, she'd disappear forever..."

"Energy? Like magic? Is that what you mean?"

"Then why pick me? I no have magic!" Ku Fei exclaimed, holding her limp teacher close to her.

"No...not like magic...this goes far beyond normal magic...like the gift she gave me..."

"The ability to shape shift, right? We can't see the aura of magic around you...because it's something more?"

"Right. It's...not of this world...it's higher, above our grasp. Without her, I would be nothing..."

"Explain it to me. Why would she disappear without killing people? How does she choose her targets?" Negi asked, kneeling down beside his motionless enemy.

The copycat wanted desperately to change, to shut the hell up. Evangeline's will wouldn't hear of it, however. Not until she had said everything that needed to be said. Negi was right...his shape shifting was his biggest strength, but it was ultimately proving to be his downfall.

"...To stay in our plane of existence...a large amount of power is needed. It's something that she can obtain...by pulling the souls out of the executed targets. Usually, the targets are...full of magical power, but not always," Evangeline's eyes fell upon Ku Fei, "Sometimes...Chi will suffice, if it is in great concentration. Because she's a higher being...it's impossible for her to remain with us for any length of time without the souls she needs to survive..."

"You take their souls?" Negi yelled, grabbing Evangeline by the collar and pulling her up to face him directly, "How can you do something so disgusting? For some woman who tells you she's some sort of God?"

"...Necessary sacrifices..." Was the whispered response the teacher received.

"What about Haruka-sensei? Are you telling me that his soul is gone, now? Stolen by that monster you're following? Then...what about Takamichi...or...you?"

"Don't worry, boya...we're not dead...soon, we'll wake up. But...we won't be playing on your side, then," Evangeline continued to speak in a low tone, almost as though she were in a graveyard during a funeral procession.

"...They been captured?" Ku Fei whispered, trying to rouse Connor, but failing.

"...So that's what happens if the voice catches you? What, you get converted? Takamichi would never help you people do something so horrible!" Negi exclaimed defiantly, dropping the girl who let herself slump against the ground.

"He won't think it...so horrible after our mother shows him the light...I know I didn't. If you could only see the world she could give us..."

"And what's wrong with our world, now?"

"Death...poverty...sadness...war...sickness...the list goes on, and on, and on...it's wrong because it isn't perfect...She can change that..."

"I already told you, nothing's perfect! Everyone can only do what they can, believe in what they do, even if it causes suffering, that will never change. She's lying to you...this world might not be perfect, but how can anything that comes at the cost of so much fighting and death possibly be better?" Negi let his eyes wander away from his defeated enemy, letting his words fade off into the light patter of the slowly dissipating rain.

"Such...big talk, coming from such a small runt...but talking alone isn't going to save you, boya..." A puff of smoke caused the boy to stumble back a step, though he made sure to keep in-between Ku Fei and the doppelganger. When the little cloud of smoke dispersed, Negi was relieved to find that the enemy was still on the ground, though in a form he had never seen before.

"Wh-Who are you?" He asked cautiously.

"No more games...this is who I am...I'm too tired to hide, anymore..." Ku Fei looked the man over. He was dressed in a loose fitting emerald robe, tied around the waist by a thick brown sash which looped over his shoulders. His young face, it couldn't have broken twenty-five-years-old, was marred by several bruises and what promised to be a scar cut across the entire left side of his face. His light brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, which was strewn unceremoniously upon the ground behind his head. If he weren't in such terrible shape, she'd have to admit that he was handsome.

"So this is what you really look like? You don't seem like a bad person..." Negi admitted, though he knew for a fact that you should never judge someone based on their appearance.

"Keeping in mind...that from my point of view...you are the bad guy...Negi-kun..." The man pointed out, breathing hard. He could feel in his swollen chest that Ku Fei had snapped a rib or two with that final kick she had given him.

"You...probably aren't going to live..." Negi whispered, more because he didn't want to admit the truth aloud, than anything else.

"Yeah...feels that way...I never thought...that I'd die before I got to see the new world..."

"A necessary sacrifice, right?"

"Ha...ha...right, Negi-kun, now you're catching on..." The man swallowed hard, pulling at his robes as though he were too hot, "It's too bad...that you weren't on our side...you deserve a better world, too..."

"Hold on, wait! Why didn't you kill Setsuna-san?" Negi blurted as he remembered Setsuna's explanation on why she hadn't been finished.

"Ha...my fellow lady-lover? I...d-didn't know at the time...she was j-just...just another enemy, I thought...She doesn't have the aura for a reason...Even after the Outbreak happens...Maybe you should look at who should have it...b-but doesn't...I'll leave you to think...about that...Negi...kun..."

The boy watched as the life faded from the copycat's eyes, becoming dull and listless. Negi grabbed his shoulders, trying to keep him awake, "Hey! Stop that! We'll get you help, just hold on a few minutes!" He turned to tell Ku Fei to run for help, but she shook her head no.

"He not breathing, Negi-bozu. It too late, now..." She said softly, not moving.

"But...he just...he thought he was doing the right thing...just like us...now he's..." Negi sat beside the body, finding that the only thing he could look at was the set of eyes before him.

"...Leave it alone...kid," Connor muttered, not moving. Ku Fei seemed a little startled at his talking all of a sudden, but she felt better knowing he was alright.

"C-Connor...how much did you hear?" Negi asked quietly, not looking away from the man before him.

"Enough to know what's going on...nice speech about how nothing's perfect, by the way," He admitted, slowly lifting his head from Ku Fei's lap, giving her a small smile on his way up. "Don't...don't beat yourself up over this one guy...he was a crazy zealot...who got caught up in the wrong crowd. All that crap he said about changing the world...that's all it is, crap."

"...What if..."

"No, don't even think about the 'what ifs'!" Connor near yelled, "Think of the people that would have to die for this so called utopia! Sunshine, Asakura, Yue...not to mention, you'd have to die, too. Even if what this guy said was true, which I highly doubt, are you willing to sacrifice all of them for this so called 'mother's' ideal?"

Negi shook his head, "Of course not! I could never...never give them up, not for anything!"

"You said that anything that came at the cost of so much fighting and death couldn't be better than what we already have...do you really believe that? You're not going to be much help if you can't decide which side you want to fight for, kid."

"Of course I believe it. I wouldn't have said it, otherwise. If you have to lose the people you love to get something, than that thing is something you don't need. No matter how flawed the world is, I still love it, and my friends. That's enough of a reason for me to fight these people...I believe that, too."

"Good! Then we fight bad guys and stop dream!" Ku Fei exclaimed, hopping up to her feet. The rain finally came to a stop, the clouds parting over the island and letting the early morning rays of light through to the people below.

The three began the walk back to the rep's mansion, even if slowly so that Connor could keep up. He stubbornly refused to allow either of them to help him walk.

"Negi...that imitation guy...he said that their 'mother' came from a higher realm. That her magic was different from the magic of this world...you don't think that...maybe..." Connor struggled to say what he was thinking, hoping that the boy would finish his sentence for him.

"Maybe...she isn't from a higher realm, but from another world? Is that what you're thinking?"

"...Yeah. What if she came through the portal when I did?" He whispered to the boy, keeping careful to make sure Ku Fei didn't catch what he said.

"What kind of people are in your world, if they would do horrible things like this?" Negi whispered back, noticing how Ku Fei wasn't being very discreet in her attempts to overhear them. She was currently trying to pull them apart to place herself in-between.

"Ask yourself this, kid; Has there ever been a time, or a place, when there wasn't power-hungry monsters, willing to do terrible things to get what they wanted?"

"But to go so far...as to use other's souls as an energy source...your world must be a terrible place," Negi mused softly.

"Nothing's perfect, kid..."

"Magic...Connor...your magic! What's wrong with it?" Negi suddenly froze up, grabbing Connor by the arm and pulling him to a stop.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Your magic...it's black magic, isn't it?"

Connor glanced over at Ku Fei, who was looking confused, and rather unhappy. Would her opinion of him be less if she knew the truth about him? Did he care? ...That was a stupid question. He knew he did, which was why he was finding the right words to place his answer in so difficult to grasp. Unable to find an elegant way to put it, he simply said, "It is."

"Just...Just how black, is it?"

"That's a stupid question, kid. Black is black. That's all," The man in black stated, pulling his arm free of the boy's grip, continuing towards the Yukihiro mansion. He could see it coming up, in the distance. The storm hadn't seemed to have released its angry grip over the building, he noted.

"What did you do to get it?" Negi asked, refusing to follow, just yet. What he got out of him now could be the difference between saving Asakura, or letting her...

Connor stopped walking, about ten feet ahead of his two allies. He tried to speak, but his voice failed him.

"What you do?" Ku Fei asked, her voice sounding small and fragile. He knew the truth would break the bonds they had, and that was something he didn't want. Not at all. The life he had led up until coming to this new world...the things he had done, no matter his intentions...the cruel fact of the matter was that even though it had happened in another world, his past would never leave him alone, it appeared.

"...I can't...tell you."

"Can't or won't? Asakura-san's life is hanging in the balance right now! You have to-"

"What?" Connor interrupted, spinning full around to stare at the boy teacher, whose face was deathly grim.

"She's having a negative reaction to the magic from the pactio. If we can't reverse it, she'll..." Negi trailed off, running after Connor who had already begun his dash for the manor ahead. Ku Fei was quick to follow.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Connor yelled, jumping over the gate to the mansion, pounding through the gardens.

Negi followed suit, but didn't reply.

"You should have left me to take care of things at the library if she needed you!" Connor flung the door open, waiting for Negi to come in behind him, "Where is she?"

Silently, Negi hurried through the halls with Connor and Ku Fei close behind him. More than once Connor's boots came close to tearing his heels off he was so close. After several unbearably long minutes, the three found themselves before the rep's door. Negi wanted to go in, but he was afraid to. What if they were too late? What if Konoka hadn't been able to help her at all?

Connor grabbed the handle, pulling the door open and entering the room.

Time seemed to break as he surveyed the room. Everything was going incredibly slow, but after the fact he found it hard to recall exactly what had happened in the room, regardless of the seeming eternity he had to imprint it into his mind. Chamo was standing on Asakura's chest talking to the girl. Konoka and Setsuna were sitting in a corner of the room, holding each other. Kaede and Yue were sitting in two separate chairs beside the bed, apparently lost deep in thought.

Negi stepped cautiously into the room, the scene coming damn close to ripping his heart out of his chest. Setsuna was doing all in her power to console the inconsolable Konoka, who was sobbing deeply into her guardian's shoulder. Kaede, her own eyes misted over, turned to find Negi and Connor standing in the room, silent. Ku Fei was out in the hall, though she could see everything that she needed to. The kunoichi shook her head slowly, lowering her gaze back to the girl on the bed before her.

The only noise that rose up over Konoka's crying was Chamo's voice, as he tried to communicate with his friend, "Sister! Sister, this isn't funny, stop it! Wake up! ...Wake up..."

_-----Author's other note: I hate myself, want to join the club? I don't get why I killed off one of my favorites, while there are so many others I'd have no problem seeing go, at all! Sure, this death may have incredible impact on the overall story, but man...even I was upset with this, and I could have changed it. I'm some special kind of heartless..._

_I didn't want to kill the copycat, either. I liked him, too! I mean, who didn't like him, honestly? He was fun to use, and he wasn't really 'evil'...The original plan was to make him a good guy for the last battle, but while I was writing it just didn't happen like that. To be fair, though, Asakura's death was planned, even though she's in my top five favorites..._

_This chapter was pretty big for getting some details of what's going on, but not everything should be crystal clear, yet. Wow, we're getting close to a big ending...I hope it comes out as good as I keep thinking it will. Don't be afraid to tell me who should live and who should die (for the hundredth time). Asakura is a good example of the fact that I may not listen (sorry Fullmetalfan...), but who knows? You could pick one out to die (if I haven't already doomed that particular character), or perhaps even save one. There's a burden, huh? Save your favorite Negima! Character from death by fanfiction...man...well, thanks for reading...-----_

_(By the way, as a bonus for all of you who read the chapter, and then had the fortitude to work your way through my author's other note, I have a 'sort of' reward for you! If this chapter didn't get you a little emotional, it means I failed as a writer. Even I, yeah, I, was a little emotional as I wrote it. But I was listening to this song, after seeing it in this video I will tell you how to find! I watched it a couple of times, and every damn time the same part got me upset. It was just the song! It's so beautiful...(Chasing Cars, by Snow Patrol). If my writing didn't do it for you, maybe the video compounded on it will! IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE ENTIRE NEGIMA SERIES, DO NOT WATCH THE VIDEO! If you have, then enjoy!)_

_Go to youtube, and type in the search engine: Negima sentamental : Just like that, except without the :. It'll be the first one to show up, titled Ten Years. Sorry, but I apparently can't give links...Anyway, this guy may not be able to spell sentimental, but his video still rocks. Narutobattousai, props to you, my brother._


	15. Among The Tsuwabuki

_-----Author's note: My lack of updates displeases me. My feelings in a nutshell. Um...oh, right: If you have not watched episode 19 of the anime, don't read this, it will ruin it. Sort of. There's a powerful warning, right there. I sort of had to skirt around a little bit, and manipulate it a little, diehards will know it when they read it. For people who like Connor, or OCs in general, or people who don't, there's gonna be a little of his past somewhere in here, so enjoy/prepare to be bored, respectively! I do not own Negima, but any other characters and ideas are my own. Enjoy...-----_

"The targeting system is more than just a targeting system. The afterglow of the dream, the aura, it serves as a channel from the afflicted person to the one the copycat referred to as their mother, their messiah. He said that she was from a higher plane of existence, and that she gave him the ability to morph from one person to another..." Connor let his words trail off as he stared the headmaster dead in the eye, wondering if the old man was listening to him for the answers, or searching his very soul for them.

Shizuna, her eyes bleary and her face moist, waited in silence for Connor to continue, but he didn't seem to want to. His eyes were dim, his voice was lifeless, and his expression was blank. The room had seemed to drop twenty degrees as he stepped into it, a cloud of restrained emotion trailing after him wherever he went.

"How do you mean? That the aura serves as a channel between the voice and the targets?" The headmaster asked softly, after examining the teacher's eyes thoroughly and silently. What had happened during the night...seemed to have killed him inside.

"The aura is a kind of link between the person who has the dream and the messiah. The people who are linked in this way are killed so that she can harvest their energy to sustain herself, and remain in this world. Without that, she would fade away. Once she gets enough, she might become a permanent fixture, I don't know. The people in masks are her 'disciples' I guess. They help her because they believe she will rewrite the world as some kind of utopia."

"When you say energy, you are referring, of course, to magical energies, correct? I suspect that Chi is also something that is taken into consideration, seeing as how some of the targets are incapable of using magic at all," The old man wondered aloud, expecting no more than a nod, though he was surprised by more words from the young man before him.

"You're right, and you're wrong. Negi thought that it was magical energy that the messiah was after, too, but the copycat said different. He said...that while the store of magic and Chi was important..." Connor found himself shaking a little, his hands experiencing a stinging sensation. He could feel liquid heat dripping from his clenched fists to the ground beside him. He glanced down, opening his shaking hand. His nails had dug deep into his palms, leaving four deep gashes which were now bleeding.

Shizuna moved to help him, but quickly stopped herself. She instead decided to fetch bandages, which she would leave to him to take care of. He was hurting, so was she. So was everyone who knew. Connor wasn't one to accept help, and he never seemed to even want the option of receiving help. She'd allow him the space to handle himself.

"Go on..." The old man quietly urged.

"He said that...while the store of magic and Chi is important...that it's the souls that she's after."

Shizuna dropped the bandages she had been carrying as he spoke these words, and even the somber old man didn't appear to know what to do with what he had just been told. A sickly despair fell over the room as the words came out of his mouth, and he could feel it. All of the people who had died after having the dream had been stripped of their afterlife, absorbed by the so-called messiah.

"The link between the two, if what the copycat said was true, is the pathway for the soul to the messiah. The aura isn't just a targeting system...it's damnation."

"But that means that...Asakura..." Shizuna whispered as yet another tear broke through the dam and slid down her cheek.

"That's all I know," Connor quickly changed the subject, now ready to take his leave of the dismal office.

"I believe...that we are all in great peril, my young friend," Wrinkled hands offered a stack of papers to the unwilling teacher, who reluctantly skimmed over the top page. His face darkened as he squinted to make sure he was reading correctly. "Would you know anything of this?"

"Cases of the mysterious aura have exploded in numbers...afflicting four out of every five people...causes and effects remain unknown..." Connor read along, flipping through the pages, catching only the highlighted bits, "On an unrelated note, the recent killings by the group known as 'The Angels' has been steadily on the rise, as well...men and women in black robes and theater masks...killing without discrimination. Men, women, and children, none appear to be safe from this ironically named terrorist group..."

Connor raised his eyes from the papers before him, focusing on the old man behind the desk. Sure enough, the black and purple aura encircled him in it's acrid grip. He held back a grimace as he saw that Shizuna, too, was a target. "But not me..." He muttered bitterly.

"Do you think you know anything of this? Anything that may be of help?"

Connor's mind wandered back to the sound of the dying copycat's voice... _"She doesn't have the aura for a reason...Even after the Outbreak happens...Maybe you should look at who should have it...b-but doesn't..."_

"The outbreak...so this is what he meant. He told Negi that he should look to those who should have the aura, but don't. Even now after this...outbreak, there are some people who don't have the aura. There might be a reason...you just need to figure it out. Anyway...there's something I have to go do," Connor turned to leave, having said everything he needed to.

"Do you know where it's going to be held?" Shizuna asked, just barely above a whisper.

"I don't care," Connor replied under his breath, slamming the door behind him.

-

Kaede flipped the coin up, watching it spin around in the air before catching it again. The rains had worn away, but the clouds still lingered, hiding the sun behind the veil of gray. She was waiting around the freshly dug grave, as were the others. Ku Fei, Yue, Negi, Asuna, and Ayaka were there, but they were all so filled with tears and quiet that they may as well have not been there at all. Kaede was pretty good at concealing her emotions, and couldn't help but wonder if she was coming off as cold. The grave was in the tsuwabuki garden beside the abandoned clock tower. No one was likely to find the grave here, and she had seemed to be fond of the place. The kunoichi was sad to see her friend go, but that her eternal resting place was somewhere as peaceful as the garden helped to dull the blow.

The procession had been small. Three teachers, five students. After all, they couldn't very well tell Asakura's classmates that she had died, right? No, that wouldn't be the right thing to do. Not with them all in similar danger. It seemed cruel and unfair, but they would have to keep it a secret. They could always say that she had transferred to another school. Maybe she went to study abroad? Explaining why she didn't even say goodbye to anyone would be tough, but it was their only choice, at the moment. Negi was finding it difficult to sort through all of the details while keeping a cap on his emotions.

Ku Fei looked to see if Negi was alright, but he seemed to be lost in thought. His sleeves were damp from his crying, but he seemed to be finished. She wanted to talk to him, but wasn't sure what to say. Maybe she wanted him to talk to her, more. She needed someone to tell her that it was going to be alright, but that didn't seem too likely, right now. But she knew that what she needed to do was make things alright, herself. How to do that, though, was the million dollar question.

Yue sniffed a little, sitting beside her tall friend, who continued to distance herself by playing with the coin containing the ghost from the East wing. After Negi's return to the mansion, Chamo had tapped into the boy's recharged energy to complete the seal. She could hardly believe that about twenty feet before her, and six feet below the ground, her friend was lying in a coffin, and that she'd never move again. For someone who was so versed in logic and reasoning, she knew that they would all eventually die, and that when they did, that would be that. The world didn't stop for just one death, she knew that. But right now it didn't feel like the world was in much of a moving mood.

It had been an accident. If he had known that something like this would happen, Connor would never have even touched her. Asuna knew that, but still she wanted to blame him. She wanted to blame someone, anyone. Her friend was cold and dead under the ground, and no revenge or solace was within reach. So many thoughts were running through her head she felt like she was going to pass out.

Ayaka was suffering similar feelings, though she was doing her best to remain composed. After all Negi was present, and he needed someone to stay strong, even if only on the outside. He had explained why they needed to keep her death a secret from the others. It was complicated, but she understood enough to comply. Hell, even if she didn't get it, if it was for her teacher there was no way she'd consider going another way.

None of them, Negi included, seemed to notice Sayo by her friend's grave. She had sped around the campus in search of her spirit, but couldn't find her anywhere. Not everyone could be a ghost, it looked. Feeling sad, and rather abandoned, all she could manage was to sit and cry.

One by one, Asakura's friends left the garden until the ghost was all who remained.

-

"But...it seems so sudden, and thoughtless...If you left now, what would your classmates think?"

"They would understand if we could tell them everything. I think...that I owe it to her to do this. If I had known what I was doing...things would have been different."

"None of the blame is yours, Konoka, don't ever talk as though it were," The headmaster looked across his desk at his granddaughter, his heart heavy with the prospect of seeing her leave. True, she still didn't have the aura, but any time she went to sleep...

"Sorry grandpa, but I have to do this. Would you please tell Negi-kun...and Asuna...and everyone, that I said bye, and I'll miss them all?" Konoka asked, turning around to not only walk away, but also hide her bleary eyes.

"There is much your father can teach you, Konoka. Please, stay safe..." The headmaster knew he couldn't stop her from doing something she felt she had to, and didn't try, "...And know, that if I shouldn't see you again, that I love you from the bottom of my heart."

Konoka paused long enough to look over her shoulder at her grandfather's somber face, and forced a smile even though she was crying, "Wh-What are you talking about? Don't say things like that while I'm leaving! I'll come back sometime, it's not like this is goodbye forever! Grandpa, y-you nut..." She stepped out into the hall, and exhaled deeply, waiting for her friend to follow.

Setsuna moved to follow her close friend, but the old man stopped her with his voice, "You'll protect her?"

"You don't even need to ask," Was the calm reply he got before she, too, left his office, pulling the door shut behind her. He listened to the sounds of their footsteps fading down the hall until he could no longer hear them at all.

"You say it isn't goodbye forever, my granddaughter..." Konoemon mumbled under his breath, not surprised by the sudden burst of magic which now landed him on a tower above a sandy beach and warm ocean, "...But I know better..."

"Hey there, old man," Evangeline's voice greeted him, "Did you miss me?"

-

"I need to warn the headmaster about what the copycat said...about Takamichi and Evangeline-san waking up as our enemies, but I don't even know if I believe him about that. I just can't see them turning against us..." Negi said, glancing across the table at Yue, who nodded a little.

"Connor-sensei already went to fill him in on the details, so he's probably taken care of that by now."

The two were in the beef bowl that Connor had taken Ku Fei and Kaede to shortly after his arrival. It was nice, almost always empty. How it stayed in business was a good question, but when you needed to be alone with someone over a cheap dinner, this was the place to go.

"Yeah, you're right, Yue-san. I know I'm worrying too much...it's just with what's happened..."

"I-It's ok, you don't have to..."

"I'm just seeing us all in a new light, that's all. I always knew there were bad people in the world, but there are also good people, like us. Ha, ha, ha...but in the stories, the good people don't...they aren't supposed to die..." Negi cleared his throat, and brushed his eyes clear with his sleeves, "Ha, ha, sorry Yue-san, I bring you out here and then start unloading my baggage on you, that's not fair."

"It's alright, Negi-sensei. Talking about how you're feeling is how a lot of people cope with problems. Granted, our problems are a little more...well, severe, than most people's, but you know what I mean."

"No, you're a good friend. I shouldn't take advantage of you like that. If anything, I should be trying to help you, not the other way around. I am, after all, your teacher!"

"Negi-sensei...did Connor-sensei tell you where he was going to go after he spoke with the headmaster?" Yue asked quietly, watching the waitress as she passed them by. Not that there was anyone for her to assist. It was funny how they were the only ones in the restaurant, but she hadn't taken their orders yet.

"N-No, why?"

"It's just that...he didn't come to her funeral...it surprised me."

"Yeah...I know. I thought if we waited for him, he'd eventually come, but he didn't. I don't know if I'm mad at him...or if I'm sad for him."

"Did he...he loved her, didn't he?"

"It certainly felt like it, at times. When I first met the copycat...I feel bad, I don't even know his name. But when I first met him, he was in Connor's shape and told me that he experienced the person's emotions that he was imitating. He told me that he had kissed Asakura-san because of that..." Negi admitted softly.

"And...she loved him too, right?"

"I don't know. I don't know if...I want to know, at all. Because the 'what ifs' can't ever be anything more than that, now..."

Yue knew that Asakura had loved him. Not something she was an expert at, herself, but she'd have had to have been blind to have not seen it. Her attention, during the dual pactios in the Yukihiro mansion, had been focused mainly on Negi and Ayaka, but the look on Asakura's face had been enough of a sign of what she was feeling. Had she ever told Connor she loved him, though? If not, she'd never have the chance, now.

"Negi-sensei...when you think of the class...who sticks out the most, for you?" She ventured, hoping she wasn't too transparent.

"Hm? U-Uh, well...I really like the baka rangers...and the library trio. Ha, ha, you're in both of those, Yue-san! You really should study harder..." Negi laughed, which was a nice feeling. Buried a friend and student while the day was young, laughing with a friend and student while the day was old. He felt guilty and relieved.

Yue tried to hide her blush, which only made her blush harder, "I-I do study...sometimes...a little. Anyway, Negi-sensei...Asakura-san and Connor-sensei have...taught me something. About...love," Her voice was fading quickly, the blood rushing her face seemed to sap her of her ability to speak. She used the few seconds of Negi speaking to try and regain herself before she lost all strength to continue.

"Love? What could they have possibly taught you about that? I mean, I..." Negi trailed off as Yue mustered up the courage to tell him how she felt about him. She faltered, turning to look at what he was staring at. Her eyes widened as she saw who was approaching them.

A man in a white suit was making his way casually towards them, a cigarette hanging loosely between his lips. The man adjusted his glasses slightly as he exhaled a stream of smoke, pulling to a stop beside the table Negi and his student were sitting at, frozen in surprise and terror.

"Got room for one more, Negi-kun?" Takamichi asked lightly.

-

"Already left the country..." Connor muttered, slowly making his way to the decrepit clock tower. It was already nighttime, he could hardly believe it. He took another swig of the bottle in his hand as he continued to grumble, "I can't believe that bitch...no, I can't believe I overlooked it for so long..." He slowly walked by the clock tower, slowing to a stop before the garden behind it. Small yellow flowers covered the ground, in the center of which was a small gravestone. Nothing large enough to draw attention, but not so small that it would be overlooked by someone who knew what it was. He let out a deep breath as he approached the stone.

Sayo looked up to see the assistant teacher approaching her, but she didn't move. She was sitting beside the stone, her back set to look as though she were leaning against it. He couldn't see her anyway, so why bother to move?

Connor stopped short of the grave, looking down at it with sad eyes and a heavy heart. Once again the bottle found its way to his lips. He sat on the other edge of the gravestone, his back to Sayo. "That makes two girls I've killed. 0 for 2. There's a track record worth having..."

"It was just an accident..." Sayo whispered, trying more to comfort herself than the assistant teacher near her.

After taking yet another drink, Connor replied, "Really? Most accidents can be fixed with an apology, Casper. This one isn't as simple."

Sayo perked up a little, twisting to look at her just-a-sip-away-from-being-drunk company, "You can hear me?"

"Talking with a dead girl while missing another one. Ain't life full of surprises?"

"You...how long have you known about me?"

Sayo waited nearly a minute for a response, and started to think that she had simply imagined the teacher talking with her out of loneliness. She nearly cried when he spoke again, "From the first class. I thought everyone just kind of ignored you because you were...I don't know, you didn't fit in, or something. But when my water balloon went right through you, it wasn't hard to put it all together. The date under your name in the class roster is 1940, anyway," He paused to finish off the bottle, which he tossed away from the grave, "You'd have to be an idiot to miss that."

"Negi-sensei didn't notice it until Asakura-san pointed it out to him."

"That's our boy genius! Had to have the redhead show him what was staring him in the face...some teacher."

"Call her Asakura..."

"What the hell are you doing here, anyway?" Connor quickly changed the subject, trying to ignore the moist ground as it chilled his leather coat beneath him, "Shouldn't you go haunt somewhere else? Like where you died, or something?"

Sayo sniffled returning to her position with her back to him, knees up to her chin and her arms wrapped tightly around her legs, "This is where I died...sixty years ago."

Wishing he had brought another bottle of booze with him, Connor let the gravestone settle into the center of his back, holding him up as he leaned against it. The clouds above had finally found enough mercy to part enough for moonlight to spill through the dark sky and coat the garden in its dim glow. The small yellow flowers were still dotted with rain from earlier, and shimmered in the low light like diamonds. "Why...did they choose here, then? If it was already a depressing place, why add to it?"

"They picked here because this place is out of the way, and they have to keep what happened a secret from the others. Because it's a beautiful place, and she deserves at least that much. Because...she loved it, here. That's why, here."

"Loved it, huh? And why's that?"

"Not too long ago, I didn't have anyone I could talk to...anyone who could see or hear me, even know I existed..." Connor didn't ask her if she truly existed or not. Sure, as a ghost her existence must be pretty empty, but right now she was mourning, and in his own way, he was too. That was real enough. Apparently, dead or alive, pain didn't discriminate. He let her talk, "But Asakura-san ended up trying to find out who I was, and what had happened to me."

"Looking for a story?"

"Looking for a story."

"When camera girl's at her finest. Or so I'd heard..."

"She found out that I had died, and after reading one of my poems went to the garden by the clock tower, all on a guess about the flower I mentioned. The tsuwabuki," Sayo looked fondly upon the garden surrounding her. She found that while it filled her with happiness, at the same time it filled her with the longing to go back to before her death, so that she could have helped her sister plant them all.

"Tsuwabuki? So that's what these are. So...what do they have to do with you?"

"My little sister planted this garden sixty years ago, because she was told that our mother would come back when the garden was filled with tsuwabuki."

"Come back from where?"

"I think...from wherever it is you go after you die. It was a long time ago...and it wasn't a nice time. Maybe I forgot because I don't want to remember..." Sayo admitted softly.

"That's cruel...to tell a little girl that her mom will come back to life if she can grow some flowers..."

"But she tried her best all the same. But a storm came through, and it would have destroyed the little garden. I couldn't let that happen...but I wonder if I'd have done things differently if I'd known what would happen to me."

"What did happen to you?"

"I don't know, for sure. I remember covering up the garden, and then that's all. The next thing I knew, I was a ghost. I don't really want to know how I died, exactly, anyway. Even the thought scares me..."

"You died for..." Connor stopped himself. She was already dead, and ridiculing her for her reasons would be wrong. "What does any of that have to do with Blaze?"

"Asakura-san came here, and this is where she was first able to see me. She became my only friend, after sixty entire years of being alone. After that, she would come here sometimes to be alone, or to do homework, or whatever. She said it was beautiful, even if it was sad."

Connor could hear the ghost start to get choked up, and initially moved to try and comfort her, but reminded himself that he couldn't even touch her. Words not particularly his strong suit, he decided she'd just have to cry this one out. That's what he wanted to do. Yeah...crying sounded good. He wanted to break down and sob. He wanted to throw restraint to the wind and break things, to punch in windows, bite, scratch, tear, kick. He wanted to scream at the gods, to accuse the demons of something that he knew was his own fault. But he couldn't. He had to keep it together until he had taken care of everything. There would be time for breakdowns later.

"Y-You said that...there were two girls that you killed. What did you mean?" Sayo whimpered a little, managing to get her words through her light crying.

"...I had a talk with Sunshine about girlfriends awhile ago. She asked if I had one, and I said no. I didn't tell her that I used to have one, because I didn't want to tell her what had happened to this girl," The man in black muttered, now deciding that as soon as he found the will to get up and leave this terrible place, the first thing he was going to do was buy enough liquor to kill an elephant.

"Were you in love with her?"

"Was I in love? Ha, ha, ha...so much meaning in one damned word. Yeah...I loved her. I loved her...a lot. I don't think I'll ever love anyone like I did her. My life was hell, but she took everything and changed it into something...alright. But fate had different plans for me, and circumstances got in the way of things...in the end, I...killed her, too."

"B-But you didn't mean too, right? It was an accident...like with-"

Connor cut her short, "No, it wasn't an accident. I meant to kill her, and I did. Negi asked me before, what I did to get my power, what price I paid to be able to tap into black magic. She was the price. I killed her for power, and because of that power, I've killed someone else I care about," He glanced over at the surprised girl behind him, not surprised to find a hint of disgust in her eyes, "Easy to hate, hard to understand. I know."

"...What were the circumstances?"

"What?"

"You said there were circumstances, right? What were they?" Connor forced a grin, and turned to face the other way once again. "You say 'easy to hate, hard to understand'. Maybe that's because you haven't told anyone everything, yet!"

"Tell you what, Casper. You tell me exactly how you died, and I'll tell you why I did it. As far as I can see, right now, we're even in the back story department."

"Why would you tell me all of that...if you won't even tell Negi or Ku Fei?"

"You saying we aren't friends?" The teacher asked sarcastically, before continuing, "You show me yours, I'll show you mine. Guess that's what I'm thinking. Plus, who are you gonna tell, anyway?"

Sayo saw his point, and stopped talking.

'_I know I should get up and leave...' _He thought, somberly, _'Because I know where this goes to, now,' _He pulled the bronze key out of his pocket, looking it over as he slowly fiddled around with it, _'I didn't want to think she'd actually pull the trigger, and I wanted to believe even more that she wouldn't have a part with this Angels group, but now that she's left the country, it's pretty clear. This key goes to the Tatsumiya Shrine, and Mana was the one who shot me, that night.'_

He recalled seeing Sakurako's cell phone in Mana's bag a couple of times, but never really thought about it. It was the same phone that the cheerleader continually bitched to him about losing, but it never registered as important enough for him to bother with it. Of course, maybe he was a little willing to look past the cell phone issue because it had been his water balloon that had ruined Mana's. But, come on! Who still owned a cell phone that couldn't take some water? It was her own fault. She hadn't attended class the next day, she seemed dejected upon finding him alive, and the girl didn't come off as warm and fuzzy, either. He could see her killing for some cash. He felt like an idiot for ignoring it for so long. Now that she was gone, he wouldn't be able to confront her about any of it. He'd have to head into the shrine blind.

"Isn't it beautiful, here?" Sayo asked quietly, watching the moonlight glisten off of the specks of rainwater on the flowers she loved.

Connor looked around, and had to admit it was pretty. But more than anything, he saw this place as full of sadness and gloom. "I hate it here," He whispered.

"Then why don't you leave?"

"...Then who'd keep my dead friends company?" Connor lurched forward as the girl grabbed him from behind, sobbing into his shoulder. He held back a startled gasp at her being able to touch him. Maybe it was because of his twisted magic, maybe it was because she wanted to be held bad enough. Either way didn't matter to him, right then. He inched around the grave so that he was sitting behind it, and he held her in front of him so he could get his arms around her. She was frigid, but he didn't care.

"P-Please...bring her back! Please, bring her back..." Sayo sobbed into his chest as he tried to soothe her.

"I can't...I'm sorry, I can't..." He whispered, stroking her hair and holding her close.

"I d-don't want to be alo...alone again...please, please...just bring her back..."

_-----Author's other note: Yes! I did it! I finished a chapter! It's been something like two weeks since my last update, and that pretty much equals me sucking. I liked getting a chapter out every few days because it kept momentum rolling, helping my thought process and keeping readers interested, so I'm going to try and shell out another chapter by the weekend, we'll see._

_Speaking of thought process, here's what's going on right now:_

_1. Konoka and Setsuna are leaving for Kyoto so Konoka can receive training from her father. I know he was against her finding out about magic, but he's gonna have to get over it, given the circumstances._

_2. The headmaster is screwed. For those of you out there who think he's going to get out of Evangeline's resort alive, I'll save you the time of wondering by saying: We'll have to wait and see. Wait...that didn't really help..._

_3. The copycat (whom I would have named Higure, had I taken the path where he joins them) mentioned the 'Outbreak', which has now happened. Four out of five people have the aura, and the 'terrorist' group, the Angels, have stepped up their appearances and killings. I would have gone with a higher number, like 9 out of 10 or better, but on such a mass scale you can't have numbers that accurate, so bear with me, that's just what I went with at the time..._

_4. The now 'evil' Takamichi has met up with Negi at a beef bowl! An exciting stage, no?_

_5. Connor now believes he knows where the bronze key goes: The Tatsumiya Shrine. Plus, I sort of inadvertently opened up a new pairing door: Sayo/Connor. Something I never really thought of, because Ku Fei is pretty much the bomb, in my eyes._

_Well, it's almost three in the morning now (that's how I found the time to finish the chapter!), so I can't quite remember if that's everything or not. At any rate, next chapter should take care of the five points I just listed (except the Sayo/Connor thing), and carry me into what I, at the moment, believe will be the final chapter (unless I find something that I missed that needs covering). Thanks for reading...oh man...so sleepy...-----_


	16. The Road To Hell, Or Paradise?

_-----Author's note: You know what means a lot to me? Being able to thank everyone here for over 50 reviews, and over2,000 hits. That's the most I've ever had of either, anywhere. So from the bottom of my writing heart: Thank you for reading and dropping reviews!_

_I didn't realize just how much I actually wanted to get in here, so it took me longer than I thought, and it's by far the largest chapter yet. It's about the size of three or four other chapters in one, but I needed to do it all to bring about a passable ending, next chapter. I've also settled upon one, final conclusion, so there will be no alternate endings. The idea of more than one ending is appealing, but for reasons I won't discuss, it couldn't work (well, logically, anyway. Worrying about logic in my fanfic covering magic, alternate worlds, and higher beings. Huh). _

_Sorry for making it so long! Maybe just reading it in segments and not all at once will fix that problem. Just a suggestion._

_Reasons it took me so long to post:_

_1. Couldn't find myself a Ku Fei background for my computer, so I made one myself using pictures I took off of the internet and Paint. It's bad-ass. Estimated time: 1 hour._

_2. Work. Estimated time: 20 hours a week._

_3. School. Estimated time: Approximately 20 hours a week._

_4. Listening to political radio and trying to inform myself about the goings on of our nation to prepare to vote for the first time. Estimated time: 5 hours a week._

_5. Trying to figure out how the hell I'm going to do one of Connor's scenes. Estimated time: 8 days._

_Yeah, number five was the big one. He's the OC, too, making everything take so long...sorry, again! Also, there are a couple of graphic parts, but it's nothing that you'd find outside of a 'T' rating, I'm pretty damn sure._

_For the first time, there will be no 'author's other note' at the end of this chapter, and there will be no 'author's note' at the beginning of the next, final chapter, of The Dreamer. I do not own Negima, but any other characters and ideas are my own. Enjoy...-----_

"And what, dear Eva-chan, could possibly have spurred this betrayal?" Konoemon asked in a somber tone as he rose from the ground, brushing himself off a little, and smoothing out the wrinkles in his shirt. He could hear the waves lapping up against the shore below the tower, though just barely.

"Betrayal?" The doll master snorted, "I don't recall ever saying I was on your side, old man."

"And yet you would play Go with me, and speak with me of the matters within the school. Would it be too far to stretch my imagination, to assume that we were friends?"

"It'd be too far for me to stretch my imagination. Oh, and if you want to stall, feel free. Twenty-four hours is a long time, and even one as long-winded as you should have a hard time wasting it all with words," Evangeline was pacing around the old man, keeping a thirty foot distance between herself and her doomed target.

"Must you circle me like a shark?"

"You don't like sharks?"

"I prefer the company of my fellow humans, above the company of animals."

"That's too bad. I was thinking about taking some of your blood in a rather...animalistic manner. But I guess dust wouldn't go down so smooth, so maybe it's better to try and be civilized, for now."

"So you would become no more than a tick?" Konoemon asked lightly, stroking his beard thoughtfully. Death was indeed an interesting prospect. He was pretty surprised that he was able to let it circle him, stare him down, hunger for him. But he did, and he continued to talk to his reaper as he had used to speak with the seemingly young girl who quintupled his own age, and then some.

"Funny. You won't be so funny when you can't talk."

"For you to be able to still my tongue and quiet my voice...now that would be a miracle, wouldn't you agree?" He could feel the dark energy emanating from her, now. She was ready to fight, and he was willing to accept it. Resigning himself to a fate he couldn't escape, he squared his feet with his shoulders, letting his power course through him and down through the tower to the ground below.

Evangeline let a wry smile cross her face as she felt the ground beneath her begin to rumble, a pale glow resonating from the old man before her, "Ready to play?"

"Go easy on an old man, for old time's sake," The headmaster grunted, raising his hand to Dark Evangel, who sneered back at him.

-

"Ma'am! I think we're all ready to order," Takamichi called out to the too-busy-with-nothing-to-help waitress, who hurried back into the kitchen. "Huh. No wonder this place is always so empty. That girl hardly ever does a lick of work," The man in the suit admitted, setting himself beside Negi, who cringed and backed away.

"T-Takamichi! What are you doing here? I w-won't let...you hurt Yue-san!" He reached for the little wand he kept in his back pocket, but stopped short of pulling it out when Takamichi shook his head a little, taking a long draft of his cigarette.

"I'm not here to fight, Negi-kun."

"You...aren't?" Yue got the words out for the stunned boy. They were both surprised, but in a very, very good way.

"No. There's...I would like to have dinner with you, that's all. If I remember right...the last time we ate a meal together was at your welcoming party, way back when you just got here. Feels like an eternity since then, doesn't it?" The white-haired man asked pleasantly.

"Y-Yeah...but I remember it like it were only yesterday. It's weird how that works, isn't it?" Negi replied nervously, wondering what was going on. He could see the aura pouring off of Takamichi like he hadn't seen it on anybody ever before. Was it because he had confronted the voice in the dream?

"So...how have you and the others been? I hope Asuna's alright."

"Asuna-san's...ok."

"Good, good. How about everyone else? I haven't been keeping as close an eye on you as I'd have liked to, so I'm kind of out of the loop..." The older teacher admitted through a little smile. Losing track of his former students was something he wasn't proud of, because he really did care about all of them. He hoped they all knew that.

Neither of the younger two wanted to speak, now. Talking about the well being of class 3-A would mean talking about the recent loss of one of its members. Who would want to be the one to tell anyone that? Then they had to take into consideration the fact that Takamichi might be an enemy, even if he wasn't acting as such.

"...I see," He replied, snuffing his cigarette out in the ash tray at the end of the table. No answer was more than a lot of words could say, in this instance, "...Who was it?"

Yue could see Negi didn't have the heart to say, so she did, "Asakura-san."

"Asakura-chan...so she's gone. Like so many others..." Death Specs was real close to dumping his pack of cigarettes out into his hand, lighting them all up at once, and letting the overflow of nicotine help set his mind at ease.

"The copycat said you'd come back as an enemy. Why aren't we fighting?" Negi asked, his face contorted in confusion, and sadness. He didn't want to have to fight his good friend, but he couldn't let him be a danger to the others he cared for. It was a difficult position to be in.

"So he's gone now, too? She spoke fondly of him..."

"'She'? You mean the one behind all of this, right? You've met her?"

"I have."

"Who is she?" Yue cut in, anxious for an answer, herself.

"She is...the most beautiful person I've ever met. I never thought I'd be able to look at anything again without feeling disgust for it after seeing her, comparing it to her. Then she showed me the world she wanted to create...and I knew I never would see anything the same way again," His face turned thoughtful as his inner eye wandered over the perfect world she had offered for mankind.

"And why's that?" Yue spoke again, noticing the look of uncertainty in Negi's eyes.

"Because it was the most incredible thing I'd ever witnessed. No pain, no suffering, no death, no sadness, no war, none of it. Everyone lived together peacefully, regardless of color, wealth, or even beliefs. Everyone believed in her, and that kept them satisfied."

"People are stupid. They can never be satisfied with one thing forever, no matter how great it may or may not be. You should know that they would eventually want more than their lot in life, and things would go downhill from there. We'd only end up back where we are now. Discrimination, hate, fear, conflict...they're all part of being human. For the world to exist as you saw it, we'd all have to be killed off so that there were no people left at all."

"Ha, ha...for someone who hates to study, you're as sharp as ever, Yue-kun. That's what I said..." Takamichi lit up another cigarette, his head throbbing as he recalled his conversation with the most perfect creature to have ever graced his eyes.

"Y-You turned her down?" Negi blurted out, hopeful as all hell that the man sitting beside him was an ally.

"That's...how she saw it, yes. I didn't approve of her methods...I told her that anything that came at the cost of so much suffering and sadness couldn't possibly be better than what we already had."

"Sounds familiar," Negi commented. Actually, it sounded almost exactly like what he had said, himself.

"We're a lot more alike than you might think, Negi-kun. When you get older, you'll see it for yourself. Anyway...I told her that it was wrong to kill people to sustain her, even if her overall intentions were good...well, the ends didn't justify the means, in this case. That's what I thought."

"Is that why you have the aura, too? Because you wouldn't help?" The boy wondered aloud, holding back the smiles upon discovering an old ally was still just that, an ally.

"No, Negi-kun, that's not why. The aura...you already know that it's used for targeting people, and as a link between her and the target which the soul travels upon, right?"

Negi and Yue nodded yes.

"It's third, and last, function is that it marks you as unworthy," The teacher admitted, not sure whether to be pleased or upset with the waitress, who finally decided to take their orders. He quickly shut up, letting the other two stammer out their requests before handing out his own.

Once the lazy waitress was back in the kitchen, Yue continued their conversation, "When you say unworthy...you mean for the utopia, right?"

"Sharp as ever, Yue-kun. It's theoretically a sound plan, at least on paper. Weed out the 'evil' of the world, eliminate those who would be a danger to the perfect new world, and use their deaths to fuel your magical needs to survive. Only the 'pure' and 'righteous' will be left, and they will all follow her to a blissful existence. That's the plan in a nutshell," Takamichi was speaking under his breath, apparently cautious that the lazy waitress might be an active eavesdropper.

"So the people who aren't targeted...are the ones who would live in this perfect world?" Negi muttered, more to confirm it to himself than to get another answer.

"That's right."

"But what about the people in the masks? And you?"

"The people in the theater masks, the Angels, know this, too. All of them had been brought to her by their confronting her in the dream, and thus they saw her and loved her. Even though they would have to die to bring about the future she shows, they're willing to die for her, and for those she favors. To create a 'perfect' world."

"So that's why the copycat didn't kill Setsuna-san that day...because she's supposed to live."

"To live in the perfect world, with all of the other's who weren't targeted before, or during the Outbreak."

"What's the Outbreak, Takahata-sensei?" Yue asked quietly, trying to absorb everything that was being said.

"The Outbreak was the period of time when the messiah left the Angels to focus all of her strength into sending out the dream to every unworthy human around the world."

"Why not just do that from the start? Wouldn't it have made everything simpler?" Baka black questioned the 'messiah's' intelligence.

"It would have, I suppose. But do you know just how much raw power is required to control such magic?"

"Enough to turn the world into a perfect utopia?" Yue suggested dryly.

"Fair enough. The souls she'd been gathering before the Outbreak were not only to sustain her, but to build her strength until she was ready to make her move. Now that nearly everyone is a target, there's nothing to do but see what happens. You were pretty close when you said that all humans would need to be killed for a perfect world to exist, Yue-kun. But she plans to kill only most of us," Takamichi admitted, lighting up a third cigarette.

"So they'd all become martyrs for this new world...sacrificing themselves in the end to save the world from anymore suffering?" Negi let the words fall from his mouth.

"It sounds noble, when you say it like that."

"I'm sure the Nazis thought that killing millions of people to 'purify' Germany was noble, too," Yue pointed out, "That's all this is, only on a larger scale."

"It doesn't sound so noble, when you put it that way," Takahata grinned, taking his glasses off to rub them clean on his suit, "I wonder if you'd feel differently about the situation...if she'd chosen you as worthy to live in a perfect world?"

Yue almost blurted that if Negi had to be sacrificed for this new world, that it couldn't be perfect. She caught herself before, though, and now saw a hole in the Angel's mother's logic, "Konoka-san wasn't ever targeted, right Negi-sensei?"

"No, she never had the aura. Asuna-san doesn't, either. I don't know if it's because of her magic cancel ability or not. Setsuna-san doesn't, Connor doesn't, Kaede-san doesn't, Nodoka-san doesn't, but that's all I know of," The boy confirmed, "The Outbreak targeted almost everyone."

"Konoka-san's too nice of a person to ever accept the kind of life she's being offered," Yue stated firmly, "She'd never want her friends to die, not even for this. And Connor-sensei...he lost Asakura-san...the world could never be perfect for him, and he'll never be happy without her in it. Ku Fei-san would have to die, too. I think he'd sooner kill himself than let her die, too. Nodoka...wouldn't trade Negi-sensei's life for anything! How can all of the Angels feel about all of this? They have to kill their families, their friends, even themselves! The people who are left will all be sad and lonely...you said it made sense on paper, but it would never work in real life!" Yue near shouted, pointing a finger at Takamichi as though it were all his own design.

"Heh...yeah, I told her that, too. No sane person could expect anyone to do these things, no matter what the benefit may be. Then again, she can hardly be considered a person, and you could argue pretty well that she may be insane. But van Gogh was insane, and he made many beautiful things," Takamichi offered with a forced grin.

"He cut off part of his ear, too. I don't want to let an insane person shape the world to her own liking while I'm still a part of it, or while anyone else I know is! Clearly, your refusal to bend to her will means you feel the same," Yue pointed out softly.

"Either that, or I'm just an idiot. It's not every day that world peace comes strolling along as an option."

"It's not an option. At least not this way."

"Why aren't we...don't we deserve to be happy, too? We're...good people, right?" Negi mumbled, "So why didn't she choose us to live?"

Takamichi put an arm around Negi's drooping shoulders, letting out a cloud of smoke up into the air. It scattered across the room as it connected with the ceiling fan. "I think it's easier if we just don't know what goes on in her head, Negi-kun."

"But it doesn't make any sense," Yue took the boy's side, "Why would Connor-sensei be chosen to live in her utopia, but not Negi-sensei? He's easily a better person..."

"Are you weighing one person's worth against another's, now, Yue-kun? I never thought I'd hear you say something like that."

The waitress set down the three bowls, slowly wandering off.

The somber dinner party of three began to pick despondently at their food. After a few tense minutes of quiet, Negi asked, "What about Evangeline-san? Is she...like you? About everything?"

"Evangeline...didn't see everything the way I did. She's had a difficult life...try and understand."

"But she had the dream, too. That means that she has the aura...that she isn't 'worthy'. She knows that she's just being used, right?"

"One would imagine," Takamichi replied quietly, "But what can we do for her? Five hundred years is a long time to live. Maybe she just doesn't..."

He didn't have the heart to finish his gloomy sentence, but he didn't have to, to get his point across.

"So...what's her name?" Yue changed the subject off of Evangeline's will to live.

"Her name? Honestly, I don't know. They just call her mother, or the messiah. It's not really important at this point, is it?"

"I suppose not..."

Negi jumped at the sound of his phone ringing. After an embarrassed chuckle, he dipped his hand into his pocket, pulling the cell out and flipping it open.

"Hello?" He listened to the girl on the other end, putting his hand up to the receiver and mouthing to the other two that it was Chao-san, "Ok...are you alright? Nothing happened, did it? ...Oh...good, you scared me! Yeah...yeah, I'll come right over. Ok, I'll be there in ten minutes, or so. Bye..."

"And what does Chao-kun want you for?" Takahata asked slowly.

"She said she had something that she needed to give me, right away. She said I'd need it later, but I have no idea what it is. Anyway..." Negi pushed his bowl away, with all of two bites taken out of it, "Sorry, but I have to go, now," Takamichi edged out of the booth, letting the boy by. Before he could even get out a 'goodbye', the little teacher was out the door.

"Guess this means we're paying, eh, Yue-kun?"

Yue was watching him through the windows as he disappeared into the night. She hadn't been able to tell him how she felt, after all. Nodoka might just be the bravest person she knew.

-

Light crackling in his open hands, Konoemon set his old bones to work at a speed Evangeline would never have guessed him capable of. He rushed in close, the gap between them gone from thirty feet to five inches in under a second. His arms firing like pistons, the old man pressured Evangeline into a frenzied string of dodges.

"You may be an opponent with incredible power, but at so close a range even you aren't invincible," The headmaster stated, much to his opponent's chagrin. Before she could retort, one of the strikes landed square in her stomach. There wasn't even enough time to gasp, or even realize she was winded. Six similar strikes followed, paired with two in the face, and one down into her right knee, which snapped back against the blow.

The ground below her cracked as her leg popped into its new grotesque position, angled out to the side. She let out a surprised yelp, but it couldn't be heard above the sound of the collapsing floor. The headmaster finished his assault by bringing his hand down hard into the vampire's shoulder, the light in his hand exploding as it connected. Evangeline plummeted down through the floor, smashing her way down the tower, which hadn't stopped shaking since the fight began.

Konoemon, not one to stay on top of a collapsing building, performed the instant movement technique, setting himself a safe distance away from the falling tower. Down on the beach, he watched as the structure seemed to fold in on itself, dust and sand spouting into the air all the while.

Evangeline struck the ground, her resort crumbling around her. With a growl, she used her good arm and leg to push herself up into a sitting position. Bracing for the pain, she grabbed at her limp arm and popped it back into its socket. She then did the same for her leg, which didn't seem to be broken. Being a vampire with so much power definitely had its benefits. She didn't bother to leave the tower. In fact, hiding behind the veil of dust and debris while she performed a spell sounded like a fine idea, "Lic lac la lac lilac..."

The temperature in the resort shot down a split second before the remains of the crumbling tower were swallowed up in thick, jagged sheets of ice. The waves of the nearby sea began to rise, now violent and crashing angrily against the shore. The sand began to crack and pop as it froze over in an ever expanding circle of magic, the tower in the center. The headmaster took both hands, the light from earlier flashing back into existence. He thrust his fists to the ground, a glowing white barrier shooting up from the ground to protect him. He watched from the safety of his shield as the sea began to freeze over, the ten-foot waves no exception.

"Impressed?" Evangeline asked from behind the old man, who whipped around too late. A blast of ice and shadows sent him flying out through his barrier and over the frozen sea. He smashed through a wave, sending icy shards spinning off as he flipped to land. He slid across the glassy surface, his alert eyes tracking Evangeline as she rushed to get back within useful spell range.

"Freezing seawater? You'll have to do better than that to impress me, Eva-chan," Konoemon commented sternly, rekindling the energy in his hands. He punched the solid sea, a massive beam of light erupting from the ground before him. Evangeline dove out of the way, rolling to a stop before flinging several icy arrows at the old man. As they neared him, the headmaster let off a pulse of energy, which shattered the arrows several feet before him. The crystalline remnants of the attack showered by him, as he stared into Evangeline's bloodthirsty eyes.

"I never pegged you for the combat-mage type, old man," Evangeline called across the twenty foot distance between the two, "Somebody as decrepit as yourself should stick to distance fighting."

"Fifty or so years ago, I was quite brash. Fighting with my fists seemed, then, more noble and more flashy. As I got older, I had to rely on magic more, and use tactics, intelligence, and wit to my advantage. Intelligence is telling me, right now, that keeping you close is safer than keeping you at length. So..." He performed the instant movement again, showing up a few feet in front of his opponent, who had stepped aside in an attempt to trip him up as he came. Realizing he had anticipated this, she jumped back to escape his fists. She fled under one of the towering waves, but was pursued by the old man, who refused to allow her the space to perform a spell of any real power. Did he have a surprise coming...

The two sped around under the cover of the frozen wave, Evangeline waiting for the right moment to spring her attack. The glow from the energy in the headmaster's palms was hot, and left behind streaks as they cut through the chilly air.

"Now!" He shouted, letting his Chi meld with his magic. The force from the combination knocked Evangeline off balance, leaving her wide open for a finishing blow. Concentrating all of his will into the attack, Konoemon's palm found it's way into her chest. Blood sprayed out from behind her as the force of the attack paired with the burning energy in his hand cut through her like paper. She didn't waste any time, however, in using her finishing attack, either. She slapped a hand against the old man's chest.

'_A delayed, unincanted spell?'_ He thought in surprise as he felt himself begin to tingle.

A beam of lightning tore through the wave and up into the sky, taking with it the old man. Evangeline fell to her knees, then to her stomach. She lay there, breathing hard and waiting for the wound to heal. A few seconds was all she needed, then she'd be ready to finish the job. If it wasn't already done.

The wave of magic faded, and vanished, allowing the headmaster to plummet down to the icy ground below. Unable to catch himself, he slammed onto the frozen sea, sending cracks coursing around him. He tried to get up, but couldn't. That attack had been one of the thousand master's, and from what he heard, Negi's. That he would fall to one of the favorites of those two seemed laughable. He groaned quietly as he saw the blood trickling away from his weary body.

"Wh-Why...haven't..." Evangeline struggled to talk, but had to stop so she could cough up a mouthful of blood. She stared at it in amazement, sitting in a little puddle right in front of her. "What's...happening? Wh-What did you do?" She gasped, clutching at the tear in her chest in fear. She began to crawl towards the headmaster.

"Wh-When one...has one such as yourself...under his ch-charge, he has to have m...means to defeat them. I thought that...th-this day might come, when I would have to defeat you, so I took the time to prepare a defense against you..." He watched as the girl crawled towards him, incapable of moving away, or conjuring up a spell.

Evangeline was straining to hear him over her own heavy breathing and pounding heart. She glanced over her shoulder to find a wide trail of blood following her. Was she actually going to die?

"I managed...to develop a technique which leaves an after-mark. Ha...ha, ha...somewhat like with the dream, and the aura. The magic film from the light I u-used is blocking your regeneration. It isn't something y-you can count on, this time."

Evangeline's strength left her several feet short of the headmaster, and she dropped to her side as she listened to him explain what was wrong with her, "A-Am...I gonna...die..." She puffed quietly.

"You can't b-be killed, like this. You may not ever fully recover...b-but you won't die, today..." He exhaled deeply, feeling the surges of electricity in him begin to fade, which felt incredible, "I, however...am not feeling so sure about myself..."

"I-Is this...a...t-tie? You...tie me?"

Konoemon laughed a little, but didn't smile, "If I keep breathing...then yes, i-it's a tie..."

-

Two girls sat in a train, their only company each other, and the stars shining through their window. Konoka was crying a little, but she was doing her best to keep it bottled up and to look strong. Setsuna could see that was the case, and her friend looked all the more pitiable for her feigned strength. She wanted to say something to encourage her...or maybe what she really wanted to do was say something to dissuade her from leaving the academy to train. She came up with nothing, however, so she said nothing. If only Konoka would let things be that simple...

"Set-chan...you're ok with this...right?" The headmaster's granddaughter asked gingerly, "I mean...leaving everyone..."

Setsuna nodded once, offering a simple response, "If that's what you want, Ojou-sama."

"But what do you want?"

"I want to help you. Whether I do it at Mahora or Kyoto...it makes little difference, to me," The swords-woman lied softly.

"Really? Is that true?" Konoka asked, tilting her head a little to look at her friend sitting beside her.

"Of course."

Konoka waited a moment before she stated, "You want to go back."

"I followed you out of Kyoto, and I'll gladly follow you back there. It's just...leaving at such a serious time...are you sure that's wise?"

"I-I have to. Asakura died because I couldn't save her..." When she said her friend's name, her voice quivered and dropped, and she was hardly able to finish her sentence. It took her a couple of seconds to swallow the lump in her throat, "What if something like that happened to Asuna, or Negi, or you? What if I couldn't help any of you?"

Setsuna had been shaking her head a little as she listened, and now spoke up, "Asakura-san died because of a reaction she had to Connor-sensei's magic. It's from another world, and we don't even know if it can be reversed by any means in this world. Regardless, it's not your burden to bear, saving everyone from danger."

"You save me from danger!"

"That's different."

"How is it different?"

Setsuna didn't reply. The silence between the two was unbearable, and it was more than Konoka could take.

"It's not fair for you to say I shouldn't protect the people I care about...when that's exactly what you do! You can't have it...you can't have it both ways," Realizing they were having an argument set her gloom even worse, and she felt her eyes filling up with tears again.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't protect them. I meant...Ojou-sama, if this is truly what you want, I'll do what I can to help. I will protect the people you love, so you won't have to do it alone."

With a sniffle, Konoka asked, "But then you might get hurt...what if I can't save you, either?"

Setsuna was both flattered and upset with Konoka's worrying about her. She cared a lot about her, and the feeling was mutual. That kept the fire burning in her that told her to keep this girl safe forever, but it also brought around the feeling of attachment and closeness that could be very dangerous. The shadows were a place she had always been able to take care of her, while avoiding such feelings of friendship. Her feelings might cloud her judgment, and put Konoka in more danger than anything else. She'd have to be careful not to ever let that happen, even if it meant distancing herself in the future. For now, though, they were close, and they were grieving the loss of a friend. To push her away now would be cruel.

"Nothing will ever happen to me, so please...don't worry about me," She jumped a little as Konoka threw her arms around her, no longer concerned about trying to be strong, or putting up a good front. She cried and cried, and held onto Setsuna as though both their lives depended on it.

"Please stay with me! We'll go back one day...I promise, w-we'll go back! I just...Please, don't ever leave..."

Setsuna hugged her back, her chin on top of her friend's head, "I'm not going anywhere..."

Two girls sat on a train, their only company each other, and the stars shining through their window.

-

Negi knocked on the door to the robotics club, waiting a moment before knocking again. After a few seconds, Chao opened up the door and ushered the boy in with a smile.

"Negi-bozu, glad you could come so quick! I've actually been meaning to give this to you for a little while now, but you've seemed sort of...preoccupied, lately."

"That's a good way to put it, Chao-san. Teaching, training with Ku Fei-san, trying to break Connor in...not to mention the Mahora festival is going to be starting soon. We're going to need to set something special up in class..." Negi left out the part about dealing with a friend's death and trying to stop mass murders around the globe.

"Yeah, the festival should definitely be fun...um, yeah, that's sort of what this is about. Here you go!" Chao pulled out of her pocket a bronze pocket watch, which she offered to Negi.

"A...watch? Uh...thanks, Chao-san, but how does that have anything to do with the festival?" He asked timidly as he accepted the gift.

"Actually, it's a time machine."

"...?"

"Yeah."

"Time machine?"

"A time machine, right."

"Like in Back To The Future?"

"Well...essentially. Except I'm just a bit cuter than the old guy, wouldn't you agree?"

"...Really?"

"Yep. Robotics club is capable of some pretty amazing things, plus when you throw in a healthy dose of magic, its really not that-"

"M-M-Magic? Wh-What are you talking about Chao-san? Th-There's no such thing as magic! That's silly. You're silly..." Negi stammered, his eyes wide in surprise.

"It's ok, Negi-sensei. I know everything about magic, so you're not doing me any favors by acting like I'm an idiot. Silly? Really," Chao mumbled, handing Negi a second object, "This is the manual. Read as much as you like. But you should know that you'll only be able to use it during the festival..."

"Oh...because of the World Tree's glowing, right?"

"How do you know about that?"

"Rumors, mostly. It only happens once every so long, right? It's sort of like an overflow of magic."

"Right. That's why you can only use it during this time, because it takes a LOT of power to run this thing."

"I...I...really want to go see the dinosaurs!" Negi exclaimed, jumping up excitedly.

"Actually, boy genius, you can only use it within the time frame that has the energy to support it. That means, you can't go back any further than the start of the school festival. Sorry," Chao shrugged a little as she spoke.

Still standing near the front door to the large robotics club building, the two spoke briefly before Chao sent him off. He wasn't sure if Chao was serious or not, but it was a fun thought. He stuffed the watch into his pocket, and started down the steps.

Ku Fei spotted him as she continued her mad dash, and slowed to a stop at the bottom of the steps, breathing hard.

"Ku Fei-san, what's wrong? Are the Angels here?" Negi asked, running down the remaining steps and up to his student.

Ku Fei shook her head, offering Negi the piece of paper she had clenched in her fist. The boy skimmed over it, understanding Ku Fei's breathlessness. She'd run all the way from the dorms to the robotics club, and she still had a ways to go before she reached her destination. He pulled out his staff, and hopped onto it, "Come on, let's go!" He urged her on.

-

Connor pushed his door open, staggering into the dorm and dropping onto Ku Fei's bed. He buried his face in her pillow, breathing deep, trying to burn her smell into his memory. He laid there for several minutes, only rolling over onto his back when he could hardly breathe through the pillow anymore.

'_I'm not even going to get to see her again,' _He realized, rubbing his tired eyes. He could smell the liquor on him, and was pretty sure Ku Fei's bed was going to smell like it, too. He forced himself to sit up, blinking hard to try and steady his vision. Once he could see straight, he stood up and moved over to the desk they all shared. Easing down into the little chair, he pulled out a piece of paper and his pen, starting on his letter.

Five minutes later, he hadn't gotten further than a few words. _'God, this is harder than I thought it would be...' _Twenty minutes later, he had about half a page, and decided that was good enough. His eyes were a little watery, but he convinced himself that it was only because of holding back his yawns.

"Where were you today?" Kaede asked from behind him.

He would have been surprised, but he had almost been expecting her to show up. After all, she was a ninja, and they could get around pretty quietly. "Here and there."

"But not at Asakura's funeral."

Connor stood up, turning to look at the pretty girl behind him. Her face was near blank, but he could see the disappointment in her barely open eyes. "I'd say it was because I don't look good in black, but..." He motioned to himself, "Come on." He stepped by the ninja and dropped the piece of paper down onto Ku Fei's bed, ready to leave.

"Where are you going now?"

"I've got some things to take care of," He replied succinctly.

He reached for the door, but Kaede stepped in front of him, blocking the way, "Where are you going?" She repeated in a low voice.

"Get out of my way," Connor growled.

"Ku Fei's worried about you. She's looking for you, right now. You're just going to shut her out and do things alone?"

He thrust a thumb over his shoulder to the girl's bed, "Give me a little credit. I left a note."

"A note? That's like breaking up with someone over the phone."

"We never were a couple, so I can't exactly break up with her, now can I? Now move."

Kaede shook her head no, "You're going to have to move me. I won't let you do something reckless without any help, or without talking to any of us about it."

"Get the hell out of my way, right now! You're not gonna like what happens next if you don't," Connor inched closer to her, the two so close they were almost touching. She didn't move, and the look in her eyes said she wasn't going to. He grabbed her by the arms, pushing her up against the door. She would have broken his arm in getting free, but she didn't get the chance. Connor pushed in against her, paralyzing her with a deep kiss.

She tried to push him away, but her arms went weak, her legs threatened to give out from beneath her, but he had her pressed against the door so she didn't slump down. Once he felt her kiss him back, he let go of her arms and pulled her up against him and away from the door. The two staggered back a step, nearly tripping over each other. Once she was away from the door, Connor pushed her aside and onto her bed. He spun around, opening the door, "What do you know? I guess I lied," He muttered, pulling the door shut behind him.

Kaede watched the door shut, trying to slow her breathing back down to a normal level. She wasn't sure if she wanted to tear off his head or his clothes. She could feel the heat all over her face, and knew she was blushing. Sure, he only did it because he was drunk. She could taste the alcohol, she was embarrassed to admit. That didn't make it any easier to accept, though. And if she knew that, why was she blushing in the first place?

Connor laughed when he heard the door open up behind him, and spoke over his shoulder, "Sorry about that, pet. I didn't realize at the time..."

Kaede, red from the kiss and from anger, followed after her arrogant teacher. "Didn't realize what?"

"Well, that it was your first. Looking at you, I had just assumed that...well, that it definitely wasn't."

"H-Hey! I go to an all girl's school. There...just aren't a lot of men to choose from," Kaede answered defensively.

"Well if the selection of guys isn't to your liking, you could always-" He caught the scent of malice pouring from the girl beside him, and cut himself off, "Yeah, never mind."

"How did you know it was...was it bad?"

"What happened to the all-business, quiet, ninja girl I know and love? But sort of don't," He snickered.

Ashamed of herself for asking him about her kissing talent, she quickly filtered out all foolish thoughts and fell back into the grim setting of things. "Are you leaving?"

"...Not before I destroy world peace, love. After that, I'm ditching this place," Connor mumbled halfheartedly, thrusting his hands into his pockets.

"You know where she is, then? Is she here?" The kunoichi reached up to grab her teacher's shoulder and pull him to a stop, but she stopped just short, and pulled her hand back.

"The Tatsumiya shrine, where roommate number three used to work."

"What? Are you saying Mana had something to do with this?"

"If shooting me has something to do with it then, yeah, I am."

She followed him quietly for a few seconds before asking, "Do you have any proof?"

Connor shrugged, but didn't stop walking. "Nothing real solid."

"Then don't say that she was the one who shot you. She may be a little cold, but Mana's a good person. She might not like you, but she wouldn't try to kill you," Kaede defended her friend.

"But I wonder...She's supposed to be some kind of hotshot mercenary type, right? What I don't get is why the hell she shot me in the back and then just sort of wandered off. I mean hey, why not just pop a cap in my head and be done with it? No worries about me getting back up, that way. But she didn't...which confuses the hell out of."

"Because it wasn't Mana. She doesn't botch jobs, and she wouldn't take this one to begin with."

"Or maybe it was because...I don't know. Maybe she was told to just bloody my nose. A gun to get a point across is a bit much, though."

"Are you going somewhere with these accusations?"

"...Why haven't we had the dream? What if we haven't had it, because whoever's pulling the strings doesn't want us dead? The copycat could have killed Setsuna, but was told not to. She doesn't have the aura. Instead of just taking the easy route and putting a hole through my head, I was shot in the back and lived. I don't have the aura..." He wondered if he had hit something solid, or if he was just letting his slightly tipsy mind wander through the booze.

"Are you trying to say that the people who don't have the aura, are supposed to live?" Kaede slowed down a little.

"Yeah, I think I am. What if we're supposed to live in this perfect world?" Connor stopped walking altogether, looking up into the dark sky as the thought crossed his mind and passed through his lips. The night was cool, but not cold, and a light breeze was present. If they didn't have so much they needed to take care of, it would have been a great night.

"I don't want to live in a world that picks and chooses its people, and kills the rest. Nothing about that is perfect, or even acceptable," Kaede stopped beside Connor, who grinned at her. She gave him a weak smile in return, and continued towards the Tatsumiya shrine.

"Ah...I can't believe you're only fifteen..." Connor admitted sadly, following the girl.

"...Connor, do you really plan to leave, tonight?" Kaede asked quietly, letting the teacher catch up and walk beside her.

"Aw, are you gonna miss me? That's touching. I'm touched."

"Really, are you?"

"..."

"You don't think you're going to live, is that it?" Kaede brought their walking to a halt by grabbing his shoulder.

"I'm not planning on dying tonight...after I fix this problem, there's one last thing for me to do before I can call it quits," He took Kaede's hands in his own, stepping around to be in front of her, "Do you remember what you said about me leaving a note behind?"

Kaede nodded, feeling her face begin to light up a little. He looked like he was about to kiss her again, and she had no real desire to stop him.

"Well, tell Sunshine that I'm sorry I 'broke up' with her through a piece of paper. She deserves better than that, and even I know it..."

"Wh...you can tell her after we clear everything up!" Kaede, somewhat unhappily, remembered Ku Fei's feelings towards the man before her.

He gave her a little kiss on the cheek, flashing her a smile as he snickered, "That's for all of the would-be super-model children we'll never get to have. And about before? I could tell because, honestly, it was a little sloppy."

Kaede frowned, but didn't speak.

"Sorry, but there's no 'we' here, and I'm not giving you a choice in the matter," Without giving her any time to recover from the peck on the cheek, Connor shot off a pulse of dim magic into her, knocking her out cold. He caught her, lifting her up and setting her down on a nearby bench.

"You should be safe out here, since you're not a target. Hm...sexual predators have to stay a certain distance away from schools, right?" He wondered aloud, continuing towards the shrine.

He reached over his shoulder to get a grip on his blade's hilt as the shrine rose up before him. The bell up front caught his eye, and he felt compelled to pull on the rope and pray for luck. Not that he particularly believed in that sort of thing. Well, maybe he did, just a little bit. With an embarrassed grimace, he gave the rope a little tug, "Help me pull this off," He muttered, watching the bell swing from side to side, chiming loudly.

A slip of paper fell from the bell, and Connor snatched it out of the air, "The hell? I thought I had to pay for these...how did it get up there, anyway?" He whispered, unfolding it and looking the slip over. He blinked a couple of times, scanning the two words in bold print before him: **WORST LUCK**. "Well isn't that lovely? It even comes with a horoscope..."

'_Beware of the opposite sex, today! Close proximity to the opposite sex will bring you misfortune. Beware of crowds. Beware of your ego. Seek the help of same sex friends in your endeavors this day. Beware your neck. Keep your head about you. Beware...' _He looked up at the sky, motioning to the paper, "What the hell? Is there anything good in this piece of crap?" He finished skimming the scrap, the last words _'See other side,' _He flipped the bit over, _'Life expectancy short.'_ His face went blank as he crumpled up the piece of paper and threw it over his shoulder. He thrust a finger indignantly up at the starry sky, "Go screw yourself, you pompous luck god, or whatever the hell you are!" He took out the key to the shrine, and jammed it into the lock. He wasn't surprised when it clicked, and the door popped open.

It was dark. He could hear people shuffling around inside, but he wasn't sure how many of them. They knew he was there, they could make him out in the light from the streetlights outside. Not to mention he'd been playing with the bell a minute ago. Connor shielded his eyes from the glare of the lights as they switched on, revealing a room full of masked people, all apparently focused in on him. The main hall of the Tatsumiya shrine was huge, but it was packed nearly from wall to wall.

"I'm here to see her," Connor announced brashly, his arms folded before him.

"Do you not fear us? We outnumber you a thousand to one..." One of the men spoke up.

"I'm not afraid of you, you puppet. You won't lay a finger on me because she doesn't want you to. I've figured out your little group's game, and I'm here to talk to her about it," He entered the room, slamming the door shut behind him. The sea of people parted for him as he strode deeper into the room, "Well? Somebody better take me to her right now, or I'm gonna burn this place to the ground!" He demanded, lighting up a ball of fire which hovered above his hand.

"There's no need to be so angry, Connor-dono. I will escort you to her," A woman announced softly, stepping before him. The voice sounded familiar, he noted.

"Is that wise?" Yet another robed figure asked.

"He will see the error of his ways after speaking with her, and will no longer try and interfere. She favors him so we, too, must favor him. Come, Connor-dono, she is probably expecting you," The woman led him through the swarm of Angels, to a door in the back which she unlocked. Connor waited for someone to try and stop him, but no one did, so he followed after the woman into the darkness beyond the doorway.

It smelled damp, and the floor was rough and uneven. Even so, he could feel the light slope taking them down into the earth. Several lamps strung along the ceiling showed that this pathway was a new addition to the shrine, dug out through the earth only recently. "Not what I'd expect from the future goddess-empress of the world," Connor admitted under his breath.

"Our mother is not as vain as us. She does not want needlessly," The woman replied calmly.

"So, what, a floor better than dirt is wanting needlessly? Whatever you say, Shizuna."

The woman slowed down, turning to look at the teacher, "So you knew it was me?"

He watched her pull off the mask, an exasperated smile on her face, "It took me a second to place your voice, but yeah. I can't understand why you'd switch sides at this point in the game, though."

Shizuna, her identity now revealed, left her mask off and continued to walk down the dimly lit tunnel, "It's hard to understand, I know. When you see her, though, you'll get it."

"I wouldn't count on that, sweetheart..."

"Think what you want. Seeing her is beyond anything you could ever imagine."

"Actually, if all of my guesswork is right, I'm no stranger to this so-called messiah, and her kind doesn't impress me at all," Connor tried to seem uninterested by forcing a yawn, but couldn't still his anxiety long enough to do so.

"Of course you're no stranger, she knows us all. But I don't think you know her at all. If you did, you wouldn't be here to fight."

"Shizuna...have I ever told you anything about my world?"

The woman in front of him shook her head, but did not slow down or speak.

"It's actually a pretty interesting place. At least in comparison to this one. Though, there are some high points to life here, I'll admit. There are demons and magic in this world, but they're completely different from their counterparts in my world..."

"And how is that?"

"Well, for starters, the demons in my world are all...unique. There's not a whole bunch of one type, like there seems to be here. Each one has their own personality, drives, appearances, and abilities, where I'm from. I've actually met a few of them, before. Not exactly the type of creature you want to spend a lot of time with," He stated seriously, wagging his finger at the back of Shizuna's head.

"What about the magic in your world?"

"The magic? Hm...it's definitely not like yours. Well, not exactly like yours. I still have to rely on energy stored within, and this amount of energy can't be increased or decreased due to any training, only controlled better. But it has a lot of uses, one of which is to be reborn. Kind of a fun idea, huh?"

"How does someone do that?" Shizuna asked, her interest now perking up. She might have to die for the utopia to be born, but what if she could come back to enjoy it, after?

"Actually, it's pretty easy. Being the glorious sinners we are, when we die, we go to hell. Down in good old hell is where the demons are stuck. Unfortunately for them, they can't maintain themselves up where the humans are, so they don't really get to do all that much. But, like with all laws divine or not, there's a loophole. If a demon can find a vessel capable of sustaining it, it can perform a type of...contract, with them. I guess it's sort of like the partner thing you guys do over here," Connor mused, wondering if the two were somehow connected.

"So the demon takes up residence in the deceased person, and is then able to move around freely with the people? Why would anyone agree to that?" Shizuna asked somberly, now realizing that she didn't have a chance at being reborn.

"Would you rather burn in hell? Besides, only a few people every hundred years even get chosen, so there's an ego factor that goes along with it. The best of the best of mankind...most of them think they can control the demon, and just take the powers for their own and get a second chance at living. Of course, with a few notable exceptions, the demon almost always takes over and gets his or her run at chaos. Chaos with their own unique flavor, naturally. It wouldn't be any fun, otherwise."

"You think that our mother is one of these creatures? Even you should realize how foolish that sounds. Someone who could inspire so much-"

"Death? Murder? Fear? Don't delude yourself, she's not doing any of this for you, or anyone other than herself. She has you people killing left and right because if she doesn't get their souls to throw in her fire, she'll get dragged back down into hell. Here's a question for you...you should know the answer now that you're part of her little cult..."

"Wh-What?" Shizuna nearly clapped her hand over her mouth when she heard herself stammer.

"During the Outbreak, did she kind of...'leave' for a while?"

"The Withdrawal...yes. How did you know?"

"Actually, I wasn't sure. But hell, that's good to hear," Connor felt a little bit of the weight chip off of his shoulders.

Shizuna stopped. She could see the shoddy wooden door that led to the messiah's chambers ahead about fifteen feet, and she could go no further. She now faced Connor, who looked her back, dead in the eye. Her voice sounded unsure as it passed over her lips, "What happened during the Withdrawal?"

"She had to back out of the Angel's adoring gaze while she became corporeal. For a demon to get a solid form like that, tons of energy is required. Hence, all of the souls she needed. Also, a lot of energy is released during this process, like when I did the contract thing with Blaze. Odds are, she used all of that excess energy to send out the dream, which would be the Outbreak. She had to hide from you zealots because, honestly, the process on the whole was...probably less than attractive," He explained, his eyes wandering over to the door a short distance in front of him.

"Since she has a solid body, that means you can kill her...is that why it was good to hear?" Shizuna wasn't sure if she believed all of the things she had been told, but she wasn't sure if she disbelieved them, either.

"Well, that's a perk, too. Actually, it means that she doesn't need anymore souls to stay in this world, on this plane of existence. Everyone else she has set for you guys to kill is just the icing on the perfect-world-cake, at this point. I'm hoping that she doesn't need those souls, and hasn't done anything with them, at all..." Connor admitted quietly, reaching into his coat to make sure his pen was in there, which it was.

"Y...You want the souls?"

"Soul, actually. I'm here to pick one up before I disembowel psycho-bitch, you know, if I'm right about everything. Keep in mind this is all slightly drunken guesswork," He pointed out.

"Asakura-san...you're here to take her soul back? You think that she wasn't used for energy?" Shizuna whispered, seeing the arrogant teacher before her in a new light. He was much more honorable than he would have anyone believe, she guessed.

"The Outbreak happened on the same day that she died, but there's no way to know which happened first. If she went after the Outbreak, her soul might be somewhere besides your 'mother'. If she went before, than the best I can do is kill this monster and move on," He turned to look back up the dark tunnel as the ground rumbled, shaking loose bits of dirt from the ceiling and causing his legs to quiver, "Looks like you've got some company to attend to, sweetheart. I'll let myself in..." He murmured, passing by the ex-counselor, who hurried up the path to find out what was going on above.

Throwing manners to the wind, he kicked the door open, crossing unceremoniously into the chambers of the messiah, "We need to have a talk..."

His eyes scanned the brightly lit room, which was in no way at all like the tunnel that brought him down here. The floor was lined with white and bage carpeting, inlaid with gold patterns which glistened in the shimmery light emanating from the hanging lamps. A white living room set dominated the center of the room, while a large bed complete with flowing drapes filled up the back of the room. He found himself gazing at the woman sitting on one of the couches, and she found herself looking back at him with equal interest.

"Wh...What th-the...hell?" He stuttered, not sure if he should move deeper into the room, or run away out into the hall.

"Connor, it's nice to see you," The woman replied with a light smile, motioning to the spot beside her for him to sit, too.

He refused to budge however, and found himself trying to put together words, but failing, "I-I...that's not...f-fair..." He stared into the eyes of the person sitting on the snow-white sofa, who simply smiled warmly in return.

"What's not fair is for you to stand there and refuse to sit with me. I've been looking forward to meeting you in person for quite a while now," She admitted politely, batting her eyelashes at him.

"You...you're a fake! Just like that guy that Sunshine beat!" He caught his voice rising, but was unable to stop it. His finger was aimed at the carbon copy of Asakura, who seemed a little hurt at these words. The ground shook again, this time a little harder.

"It's true, I gave him that power. It wouldn't be wise for me to give something that I, myself, could not use. But to call me a fake outright is mean, Connor. In her form, I know everything she does, which means I know you quite well..." She patted the seat beside her a second time, and her flustered company seemed obliged to comply.

He lowered himself beside her, careful not to touch. He turned to look into her eyes. The eyes of the girl he had killed, not even a whole two days ago. He didn't think he was in any immediate danger, at least not until he attacked her. After all, she wanted him to live in her new world. It was this assumption that he was depending on the most, "You know what she knew, but can you feel it?"

"No. To have the feelings of the people I appear as would be quite dangerous, and might obscure my ultimate goal from my vision. Their individual knowledge and looks are enough for me," The fake Asakura replied gently, setting her hand on Connor's knee, "But I have my own feelings, so why would I need another's?"

Connor brushed her hand off of him, though he didn't get up, "Don't touch me, with her hand. I want you to change."

Sounding somewhat hurt, she replied, "If you truly wanted me to change, I would. Those who see me, see me as who they want to. Many people see me as their mother, or a lover, or a religious figure, of some type or other. I've actually been called Mary Magdalene more times than I care to admit. I'm a little embarrassed to say, I'm not sure who that is," She said softly, with a little blush.

"So you look like whoever seeing you wants you to look, and you use some sort of magic to lock them in? Well...how many people have tried to jump your bones, then?"

"Oh, you're terrible!" She laughed, pushing him. The ground rumbled again, the hanging lamps swinging back and forth, "So noisy...but no, I have never been approached in that manner. People can sense my pureness, and would not defile me no matter my appearance."

"Pureness? Is that what we're calling it? Hmpf, whatever. I think you know I'm not here for a social call, and I can't stomach much more of you looking like that, so let's get down to business," Connor rose from his spot beside the messiah, stepping across the room to face her from a distance.

"I already know what you're going to ask. Would you like for me to simply save you the time and answer now?"

"By all means."

With a sigh, the imposter Asakura began, "I did request that Mana send you a...warning, of sorts. She didn't find the mission all that favorable, and it was quite costly. I requested that she shoot you once, but not in the head or neck, because I didn't want you to die. I only wanted you to stay out of harm's way while I created a new world, and having you bedridden with a wound was all I could do without exposing too much to you."

"I could have died from the shot in the back!"

"Indeed...Mana called me after she had finished, and told me that you had died. I was worried at first, but found out shortly after that you were alright. She thought she had failed, but really, she did just as I wanted her to. As I understand it, she's left for Puerto Rico already..."

"Ok, so that's one question down. Next one...you're from my world, aren't you? You came with me through the portal those idiots conjured up, right?"

"You're correct, though I don't see how you could have known that. Maybe that's why I like you, because you remind me a little bit of home," She replied softly.

"You had to use the souls of other people to sustain yourself because you can't stay on the human's plane of existence, right? But I've guessed that you're done with the soul gathering part of your plan. You've become solid, right? During the...'Withdrawal'."

"Once again, correct."

"Last up...did you use Asakura's soul to make yourself whole, or did she come after that?" He asked the question eh had come here to ask. Her answer would determine the remaining length of her life, he hoped she knew that.

The fake Asakura looked away, "...That's why you've come, isn't it? You had no interest in seeing me."

Connor reached over his shoulder, jerking his blade free from its scabbard, "I'm gonna give you ten seconds to answer me, and if it's not what I want to hear, I'm gonna kill you," He let anger get the better of him, but he wasn't sorry. It was time to show his fellow world-hopper the door to hell, and he happened to know the way fairly well.

"How can you talk to me like this? To raise a weapon against me?" The would-be messiah asked slowly, standing up.

"Four...five..."

She raised her hand a little, a black sword materializing rapidly in her open hand. She grabbed the hilt, pointing the blade at one of the few she favored, "Even if it's someone I would rather have live, I can't let anyone come between me and my vision."

"Seven...eight..."

"Would you really throw away paradise for a girl you killed?"

"Ten!" Connor shouted, flying towards his enemy. He swung across her chest, but she hopped back and brought her sword up and against his shoulder, though it barely scraped him. He pushed his attack, tackling his opponent and sending the two toppling over the white sofa.

Used to rolling around while fighting, Connor caught himself and cartwheeled to the side while the messiah, still posing as Asakura, landed hard on her back. Completing his graceful landing, Connor aimed an open hand at his hapless target, a blast of fire roaring across the room to consume her.

Displaying a speed she didn't seem to have a second ago, the messiah leapt to her feet, swinging her blade across the flame and dispersing it. She could barely see Connor rush her through the distorted air before her, and was hardly able to counter his attacks with her weapon. Kicks and swipes whistled around her as she struggled to dodge him, but couldn't read his movements. He swooped down low, kicking her legs out from beneath her. His other leg drove home into her chest, sending her sprawling to the ground a few feet away. He rolled back, and would have lashed out at her a third time, but before getting up, she clapped her hands, and three men draped in black fell from the ceiling to stand between him and her.

"I may have a physical body, now, to remain a part of this world, but that does not mean I will allow you to harm it..." She said coldly, rising to her feet, "And neither will they..."

Connor snickered, reaching into his coat, "Yeah? Are they willing to die to protect that shell you killed so many people for?" He pulled out a gun, aiming for her head. He pulled the trigger rapid fire, unloading his clip into the three men who dove in front of their savior. They all collapsed to the ground in heaps, leaving their master unguarded and afraid. "Looks like they were...oh well, your turn," He popped the empty magazine out, pushing another one in.

"A g-gun?"

"Funny, huh? Had to get shot to realize what a bitch it was. Plus, when you hold it like this," He tilted it sideways, aimed at her face, "You look cool. Any profound last words?"

He felt a jolt, the gun falling from his hand. He looked down, the bloody end of a sword sticking up through his stomach.

"I should ask you that..." The messiah replied softly, both pleased that she was safe, but sad that one she loved had to die for it to happen.

The blade rose, pulling through him and tearing him up inside. He yelled, staggering away and off of the blade. He fell forward, his eyes wide with pain and the hole in him bleeding profusely. He rolled onto his back to get a look at who had stabbed him. He at least deserved to see the bastard...his blurry gaze landed on an Angel, draped in a black robe and wearing a crying theater mask. "B-By a...nobody..." He whispered.

"I truly am sorry you could not be a part of my new world..." The messiah spoke, and he could catch the sound of real remorse in her voice. She really was one of the monsters from his world. Capable of doing terrible things for an apparently just cause, or capable of doing good deeds to ensure a dark future for them to enjoy.

"Mother," The man in the robe spoke, "Should I finish him?"

"...Yes. He doesn't deserve to suffer."

"W-Wait...let me see...let me see her face...one more time..." Connor requested in-between gasps, beginning to think he wasn't going to come out alive, this time.

Pity getting the better of her, she nodded to the last of her guards. The man quickly disarmed Connor, throwing his sword across the room and taking the gun with him. Once he was confident the dying teacher had no weapons left and was incapable of anymore magic, he backed away to give his mother room.

She knelt down beside him, brushing his hair out of his face and looking down into his eyes with regret at how things had turned out.

"...So...beautiful..." He admitted, his eyes filling with tears. He sniffed, his chest beginning to heave as breathing became almost impossible. The guard and the messiah's attention whipped around to the door as it burst open, which was the only opening Connor needed. He poured the last of his energy into snatching his pen from the inside of his coat, bringing it up into the savior's neck, below the ear.

She was dead instantly, the blood pouring down over the pen and his hand, sliding down his arm. He heard someone say his name, but wasn't sure who it was. The voice was definitely familiar. The sound of a short-lived struggle found its way into his head, but he was losing all sense of hearing, and sight was following pretty quickly. A face popped up in front of his own, and though he barely recognized it, it still brought a smile to his face. "Sunshine..." He whispered, trying to let his hand loosen its grip on the pen so it could fall over her and he could touch her again. He couldn't smell her over the scent of his own blood, and the blood of the messiah, who was lying on top of him.

Shizuna watched from the doorway as Negi finished fighting with the last guard, dropping on Connor's other side, pushing the dead messiah off of him. His hands shone faintly as he tried to help repair the wounds, even if only a little. His face was coated with panic and fear, but especially the glaring fact of realizing his own inadequacy. He couldn't fix this.

"It ok! This happen before, you alright! Come on..." She grabbed Connor beneath one of his arms and behind his head and tried to pull him up, but he couldn't cooperate at all and didn't budge. She could have easily carried him over her shoulders, and that was what she planned on trying next. She would have, too, if he hadn't stopped breathing.

She pinched his nose, lowering her face to his and breathing into him. Her eyes were leaking and his face was getting wet. She pushed on his chest, trying to count but losing focus on the numbers and instead focusing on the fact that he was dying.

"Please don't die," Negi cried, trying the magic again, this time with everything he had.

Ku Fei pressed her mouth over his again. He didn't respond at all.

Shizuna lifted up his arm, her hand on his wrist. Negi broke down when she muttered there was no pulse, but Ku Fei couldn't accept that, refusing to stop trying.

"He not dead! I save him, this time!" She shouted through her breaking voice.

Shizuna put her hand on her shoulder, trying to gently nudge the girl away from the dead teacher, but she wouldn't move, "He's gone, Ku Fei...it's over..."

Ku Fei shook her head, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into the arch of his neck, "No! No, no, no, no, no...He not dead..." Negi lowered his forehead against her shoulder, crying with her. It was over, and this was their taste of victory.


	17. Almost Happily Ever After

"Good morning!" Negi exclaimed, sliding the door to his classroom open. The class turned to greet him, all smiles. Seeing their bright and cheery faces was enough to make getting up in the morning worthwhile, he had to admit.

Once they had all bowed and returned to their seats, Negi started in, "Today's a pretty good day, isn't it? We get to pick something for our class to do for the Mahora festival. I'm really excited about this! I hear it's supposed to be fantastic!"

Several students started to tell him about the festival at the same time, and after a few seconds everybody was talking. Before he was sure exactly what he had said to bring it upon himself, everyone was standing around, talking in loud voices, and pretty much ignoring the fact that they were in a classroom.

"Y-You guys...we're losing class time..." Negi tried to say loudly, but his voice fell short of noticeable amidst the flurry of girls. He felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to find it was Yue, "Yue-san, good morning."

"Good morning, Negi-sensei," His student replied with a bow. When she rose back to look Negi in the eye, he could tell he wasn't going to like what she had to say.

"Y-You need to get back to your seat, 'cause we're not even going to pick out an activity if we don't focus..." He mumbled, looking away.

"Negi-sensei, where are Ku Fei, Kaede, and Connor-sensei?" She decided to ask anyway. There would be lots of time to sit around and not ask him questions later.

Negi laughed a little, rubbing the back of his neck, "Ku Fei and Kaede...after last night, are a little worn out. C-Connor used to say he'd leave as soon as we took care of everything," He was whispering this part to Yue, "And I guess he meant it. He went back to Wales," The boy lied through a feigned smile.

"...Did he? That's too bad..." She tried to let Negi believe that she believed him, but she could guess that he was dead. The boy wasn't a great liar, even though he put up a pretty good front. Ku Fei was upset, so she didn't come to class, and Kaede stayed with her to try and comfort her, she assumed. "So that means you stopped the voice, right?"

"Y-Yes, we did. The aura's completely gone, and the Angel's activity has dropped to almost nothing. I guess there are still a few fanatics around the world, but the magic world is taking care of them. It was weird..." Negi thought back to the dead messiah on Connor's chest, "She looked a lot like Asuna-san. It was scary to see her...not alive."

"Just try and forget about it. We can put all of this behind us, now," She put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a smile, "You saved us, Negi-sensei. You both did."

With a flying kick the incentive to move, Yue was quickly replaced with Nodoka as Haruna switched the two out. The manga artist, with an arm around her shoulder as though she hadn't just kicked her short friend in the face, was all smiles as she prodded her friend, "What were you whispering with Negi-kun about?"

"Nothing!"

"Nothing?"

"Nothing!"

-

Sitting on her bed, which had the slight scent of liquor on it, Ku Fei read the letter again. It was what he had left behind, specifically for her, and she loved it, even though it made her sad. His handwriting was sloppy, probably because he was drunk, but she didn't care. The words were nice, even if they didn't look pretty.

'_Hey Sunshine! I got some good news, and I got some bad news. Since I'm a cold-hearted bastard, I'll tell you the bad news first._ _This is my way of saying goodbye, a letter. I don't think we're going to see each other again, and if we do, it probably won't be nice. I think whoever is handing out the dream is doing it from the Tats...tat...miya shrine,' _She laughed a little at how he couldn't seem to write 'Tatsumiya' down in Japanese,_ 'and I'm gonna go tear it up before I cut out of here.'_

'_Then, there's the good news. First off, you won't have to worry about anymore nightmares, or freaks in masks who want you dead. That's always good, right? Well, I guess that's it. Before I let you go, though, I just want you to know that I might not have been able to show it very well, but you did mean a lot to me. My first Japanese -sorry, Chinese- friend, and the most important. I guess I'm leaving a letter because if I saw you again, I might not be able to leave, and I can't stay here. I remember I promised I'd stay around if you were more careful, but you broke that one too, right? I'm recalling a half destroyed library island, at the moment...Sunshine, stay out of trouble for me, alright? Oh, and don't listen to Negi. Everything's funnier that way. Good luck with life, Sunshine. It's a bitch, but you gotta love it all the same.'_

Ku Fei rubbed the water out of her eyes, trying to smile at the final words Connor left her. She had lost count of how many times she'd read it, but she knew it hadn't been enough, yet.

"Ku Fei, we're late for class," Kaede spoke quietly, disturbing the quiet in the room. The only sounds previously had been the Chinese girl's sniffles, which made the kunoichi sad, herself.

Folding the note up and sticking it in her pocket, Ku Fei hopped out off of the bed, offering a smile to her last remaining roommate. "You right...let's go!"She would do her best to enjoy what life had in store for her, to live life to its fullest. Whether it be through tears or through laughter, she'd experience them both and be all the stronger for them. That's what he would want, she figured.

-

"So he sacrificed himself in order to save everyone," Takamichi spoke to his tiny friend as they slowly made their way to the old clock tower.

"I don't know if he ever meant to come out alive or not, but I know he wanted to help us," Negi replied softly, having to take big steps to keep up with the older teacher, "And I'll never forget him for that."

"Ah...it's a beautiful day, eh, Negi-kun? Like the whole world is waiting for us to run out and enjoy it."

"It is! With the messiah gone, we can all slow down and breathe. It's like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, and I'm sure there are people all over the world who feel the same. In a weird way, she's sort of brought us all a little closer..."

"You're right, I can feel that, too. But I'll never know for sure if what I did was really the right thing to do, in the grand scope of things. In the long run, maybe the world would have been better off. But when I think about everyone who would have had to die for it to happen...it helps me to think I made the right choice," Takamichi considered lighting up a cigarette, but chose not to. The fresh air was enough.

"Oh! How's the headmaster, by the way? Is he feeling any better?" Negi tilted his head to look up at his friend, who nodded.

"He's pretty sore, but he'll live. He's a tough old codger, to stand up to Evangeline and come away breathing."

"A-And Evangeline-san? Is she ok?"

"Well...physically, she'll recover. There might be a scar, but with her, who knows? But I think the real damage wasn't physical..." Takamichi admitted, his eyes directed up at the slowly rising clock tower as it rose up over the trees.

"Her ego, you think?"

"Well, that, too. I think that what hurts her the most is that...maybe she thought she was being offered some sort of redemption, for all of the things she'd done wrong in her life. Somehow, that making a perfect world would have exonerated her of her past. I think she's also feeling guilty about what she tried to do, and what she was ready to do. But that's just my opinion, I could very well be wrong...What about Konoka-kun and Setsuna-kun? Have you heard from them?"

"No, not yet. I'm expecting a call later on tonight, but they probably have so much to do, they might forget about me!" Negi laughed.

"I don't think so. Konoka-kun's probably crying because you aren't there to pick up your phone, right now,"Takamichi stated seriously, crossing his arms.

"Th-That's not funny!" Negi said, slowing down as they approached the garden by the old building, both coming to a complete stop when they saw who was there.

Ku Fei was sitting beside the pair of gravestones, one Asakura's, and one Connor's. For a split second, Negi thought that he saw Sayo, but as soon as he thought it, she was gone. They could hear her crying, but both thought it better to give her a little space, at least for the time being.

"Negi-kun," Takamichi whispered, "I'll come back later, to pay my respects. I'll see you tomorrow," And with that, he turned around and walked off down the dirt path.

The boy waited a few minutes to see if Ku Fei would get up, or even move, but she didn't seem like she planned on doing so for awhile. She really had loved him, after all. Now he was gone, though, and there was nothing anyone could do to change that...or was there? He dipped his fist into his pocket, pulling out the bronze pocket watch he had received from Chao. Maybe he could use it to go back and stop Connor from dying! Maybe...if he thought about it, there was nothing stopping him from going back to stop Asakura from dying, either! He felt a fire ignite in his soul, that moment. He never wanted to see one of his students crying like that ever again, and he would do everything in his power to fix things!

"Negi-bozu, you aren't thinking of trying to go back and stop this from happening, are you?" Chao asked, her hand on Negi's shoulder. He nearly jumped out of his skin at her sudden appearance, but managed to keep his heart in his chest, "Because that wouldn't be right..."

"Is there anything 'right' about that?" Negi asked, motioning to the crying girl beside the graves.

"It's not easy to accept, but when someone dies, they're gone. Don't forget, it's impossible for you to travel anywhere beyond the first day of the festival, which hasn't even begun, yet. There is a thing called fate, and when someone is meant to die, no amount of effort can change that. That goes for all of us."

"But if what you said is true, and this really is a time machine, why couldn't I change fate?" Negi asked defiantly, though he was careful to keep his voice low enough that Ku Fei didn't notice them.

"Ugh, didn't you read the manual, Negi-bozu?"

"Yeah, I did. I need a large store of magic to move back through time, and that's why large spaces of time are virtually impossible to move through. That's also why I can only use this during the festival, because of the overflow of magic from the World Tree. There's plenty to go around in the air, which means I can use it without a problem in that period. But what if I could tap into the tree directly, and use the power from the source, to jump back even further?"

"You'd break the Cassiopeia, and wind up lost in a tear in the space time continuum, possibly opening up a wormhole on the spot, and sucking the planet into an alternate dimension, or just kill us all. That's why we don't play with the time machine more than it allows, Negi-bozu," Chao exhaled deeply, patting the boy on the back.

"...How did you find us out here, anyway? It's supposed to be a secret," Negi said, trying to think of a way to use the Cassiopeia safely, but still achieve his goal.

"Hm? Oh, I planted a tracking chip in Ku Fei's head about a year back, while she was sleeping. I was just wondering why she was late for class, that's all," Chao admitted innocently, turning confused eyes at the look of shock on Negi's face, "Is that not normal?"

"N-No! It's not!"

"Anyway, I can see that she's a little busy, so I'll just find out later. I suggest you stop thinking about dangerous things, Negi-bozu, and think more about the test we have on Friday. Makie was looking particularly lost, in the five minutes of lecture we got today. See ya," Chao whipped around, and was hurrying down the path before the boy could stop her.

He looked over his shoulder at Ku Fei, who had seemed to have slowed her crying, but was still sniffling. _'I can't leave things like this...if there's even a chance at changing things, I'm going to try!' _With that thought, he ran off down the path to speak with Hakase about some possible modifications to the Cassiopeia.

Kaede, perched up on the hour hand of the busted clock tower, watched Negi run down the path, wondering what he was so riled up over. Letting it go, she resumed watching the sun dip down beyond the horizon, resting her back against the hand as she laid back down. Soon the curtains of night would fall over the sky, and this brief part of their lives would be over. She, along with a few others, would be left to wonder what Connor could have been to them, if anything at all, had things happened differently. She was ashamed when she felt the desire to have been able to mend his heart after Asakura's death. She knew Ku Fei had wanted to be the one to take on that task. Maybe things were simpler with him gone.

She cast a glance down at her friend, sitting beside the graves, "But still, I'd change it if I could. Easy or not...if only for you, Ku Fei."

The sun vanished as nighttime won over the land, a chapter of life at Mahora academy coming to a close.

_-Fin-_

_-----Author's note: And there we have it, the completion (sort of) of my first fanfic. I would, first of all, like to thank everyone who took the time to review frequently (or at all) and encourage my efforts. You know who you are! Also, thanks to everyone who even bothered to read at all. No exclamation mark for you guys, though._

_I, personally, like the ending. It leaves the door open for a sequel if I choose, but it's not so indefinite that readers can't imagine what happens. I didn't want to leave Ku Fei so unhappy, but that's just how everything turned out. Everything kind of spun out of control when I tried to do filler chapters...I hope I get that down, eventually..._

_I started writing this story because I couldn't find a Negima fic with an actual plot to it, and it was kind of making me mad. I found this site after I finished the fourth chapter, and then it wasn't really an issue of lackluster Negima fics, because there are a few good ones up here. Really, all I could find before were Konoka/Setsuna ones, one chapter long self-inserts, and a couple of perverted ones with no plot. Not that I read those ones...really, don't judge me._

_If I do try a sequel, there are a lot of things that need to be taken into account._

_1. Konoka and Setsuna are living in Kyoto, now. That opens the door for a lot of stuff with them, in their own private adventures. Not 'private' like that!_

_2. The Mahora festival! I'd have to deal with the entire Chao story arc, which is less than small. Not to mention I'd have to resolve it all._

_3. Connor's dead. I don't like that, so if I DID do a sequel, odds are, I'd have Negi succeed in stopping him from dying, but not Asakura. A big part of the sequel would be him trying to find Asakura's soul, so he could let it go. The messiah DID say it was someplace safe..._

_4. Ku Fei/Connor/Kaede love triangle. I'd really enjoy playing through that. Then, at the same time, I can have the Yue/Negi/Nodoka triangle going. Take into account, too, that Sakurako and Haruna both have a thing for Connor, themselves. Yay young love!_

_5. Sakurako and Ayaka know about magic, now! Ayaka is even Negi's partner, so there would be plenty to handle with these subjects...Plus, Sakurako, like I said, has a thing for Connor._

_Finally, before I shut up, I did NOT plan for the story to be as dark as it finished. I planned for plenty of romantic tension and hurting relationship moments, though, but never got to hit on a lot of them. Guess that all just goes to show not everything winds up the way you think it will, even when you're in total control._

_Once again, thank you everyone for reading, and have a good time with all the other Negima! Goodness out there!_


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